The Taylor Review

The Taylor Review – what you need to know

In October 2016 the Government launched a review of modern working practices.

The review was chaired by Matthew Taylor, the Chief Executive of the Royal Society of Arts The review sets key recommendations to address the challenges facing the UK labour market, which, if introduced, would mean significant changes to current UK employment practices.

The key recommendations are:

Agency workers

Agency workers should have the right to request a permanent contract after 12 months and the hirer would need to consider the request.

The ‘Swedish derogation’ should be abolished.

This is an exception to the Agency Workers Regulations 2010, which means that agency workers do not need to receive equal pay to comparable permanent employees if they are on a contract that gives them pay between assignments.

Tribunal fees and enforcement

The burden of proof should be addressed so it is up to a business to prove someone was not a worker/employee, rather than the other way around.

For low paid workers, the right to paid annual leave should be enforced by HMRC rather than tribunals.

Zero hours’ contracts

There should be an increased wage rate, above the minimum wage, which should be paid to people when they are working non-guaranteed hours.

Workers on zero hours’ contracts should have a right to request guaranteed hours after 12 months.

Methods of calculating continuity of service should be reviewed to make it easier for workers on flexible contracts who have gaps in employment/engagements to establish that they are continuous and entitled to statutory employment protections.

Statutory sick pay/sick leave

That SSP should be reformed so that it is accrued based on length of service in a similar way to holiday pay.

A legal right to return from sick leave, (as there is with maternity leave), conditional on engagement with the Fit for Work service.

Employment status

Tests developed through case law to be clearly set out in legislation to make it easier to determine employment status.

Changes made to the current definition of ‘worker’ to give statutory employment protection to a wider class of people, including those in the gig economy.