I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time.
I am pleased that we have time to debate this important issue in the Chamber. I know that many hon. Members in the Chamber will have a personal interest in this area and am grateful for their participation. Zero-hours contracts are an important part of the UK’s flexible labour market, both for employers when there is not a constant demand for staff and for individuals who need to balance work around other commitments such as childcare and study. However, the 2017 Taylor review of modern working practices found that workers on zero-hours contracts, as well as agency workers and temporary workers, struggle where flexibility is “one-sided” in an employer’s favour. Some employers misuse flexible working arrangements to create unpredictability and insecurity of income, and there is a reluctance among some workers to assert basic employment rights. That one-sided flexibility means that workers need to be available to their employer with absolutely no guarantee of work. Employers can also schedule or cancel shifts with little notice, leading to insecurity of hours and income for workers—or, in the case of temporary workers, dismissal altogether at short notice.
To address one-sided flexibility, the Taylor review recommended that the Government should create a new right to request a contract with guaranteed hours for zero-hours contract workers. The successful passage of my Bill would create a new right for eligible workers to request a more predictable working pattern.