The TUC has called on the Government to “finally deliver” on better workers’ rights, four years on from the Taylor Review into modern working practices.

The Taylor Review report came out on 11 July 2017, promising “good work for all”. However, the following years have seen few of the review’s proposals implemented. The TUC says implementing the Review’s proposals should have been the “bare minimum”.

According to the union body, since the review the Government has repeatedly failed to deliver on its manifesto promise to boost workers’ rights. The TUC says the removal of the Employment Bill from this year’s parliamentary agenda was a nadir for the Government’s already-poor record on workplace rights.

The TUC warns that without action on workers’ rights, insecure work could spiral out of control again, as it did after the 2008 financial crisis – adding that the prime minister’s levelling-up agenda will be in tatters if the Government fails to boost rights to decent work.

A nation of insecure work
The call comes as the TUC releases new analysis based on official data, which reveals that in the UK today, one in nine (3.6 million) are in insecure work.

The latest figures show that insecure work has taken a hold across the UK. More than one in ten workers are in insecure work in every area of the UK bar two.

New TUC polling, conducted by Britain Thinks and GQR, also shows how insecure workers have been at the sharp end of the pandemic:

• Insecure workers are more likely to report their working conditions getting worse in the last year than those in secure occupations (39% to 27%).
• More than half (55%) of insecure workers, including three-quarters (72%) of zero hours workers, had their hours cut due to the pandemic.
• Insecure workers are ten times more likely than workers in more secure jobs to get nothing when off sick (51% to 5%).

Workers in insecure jobs are having to shoulder greater risk of infection during this pandemic, while facing the “triple whammy” of poor or no sick pay, fewer rights and endemic low pay, according to the union body.

The TUC says the pandemic must be a turning point for workers’ rights, pointing out that many key workers who have helped keep the country going are stuck on insecure contracts, as the new analysis reveals the occupations with the highest rates of precarious work:

• Nearly one in four (23.1%) of those in elementary occupations, including security guards, taxi drivers and shop assistants, are in insecure work.
• More than one in five (21.1%) of those who are process, plant and machine operatives are in insecure work.

Sizable numbers of those in the skilled trades and caring, leisure and other service roles are also in precarious employment.

The union body adds that ending the scourge of insecure work is vital to tackling structural racism in our labour market. The new analysis shows one in six (15.7%) BME men are in in insecure work compared to one in nine (11.1%) white men. BME women are also markedly more like to be in insecure work than white women (12.4% compared to 10.3).

Recent TUC research showed BME women are twice as likely to be on zero-hours contracts as white men.

Abusive use of zero-hours increasing
The TUC says the rise of zero-hours contracts is emblematic of the broader increase in insecure work after the financial crisis. The union body calls these contracts the most egregious example of one-sided flexibility at work because they hand the employer total control over their workers’ hours and earning power.

New TUC polling, conducted by GQR, shows just how many zero hours contracts are negatively impacted by this one-sided flexibility:

• More than eight in ten (84%) zero hours workers have been offered shifts with less than a day’s notice.
• Seven in ten (69%`) have suffered cancellations at less than a day’s notice.

The TUC says the abusive use of zero-hours contracts has become more widespread since the Taylor Review, pointing to comparable polling from 2017, which shows there has been a marked increase in short notice shift offers and cancellation. Half (51%) of zero-hours workers reported having had shifts cancelled at less than 24 hours' notice in 2017 and 73% had been offered work at less than 24 hours' notice.

This instability means zero-hours workers never know how much they will earn, and their income is subject to the whims of managers. It makes it hard for workers to plan their lives, look after their children and get to medical appointments.

The new TUC polling also makes clear that zero hours contracts jobs aren’t a preferred option for most workers, despite the protestations of employers.

Three-quarters of zero-hours contract workers (76%) would prefer a fixed contract. The main reason (45%) workers give for taking on zero-hours work is because it is the only form of work available.

Government must act
To end the grip of insecure work on the UK labour market, the union body is calling on the government to:

• Ban zero-hours contracts.
• Introduce penalties for employers who mislead people about their employment status and crack down on false self-employment.
• Give workers a right to ‘day one’ flexible working (currently workers can only apply for flexible working if they’ve worked continuously for the same employer for the last 26 weeks.)
• Allow unions to access workplaces to tell people about the benefits of joining a trade union.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“Everyone deserves a decent, secure job they can build a life on. But for too many, decent work is impossible to find. Many of the care workers, shop staff and delivery drivers who kept the country going during the pandemic are on low pay and insecure contracts. That is not right.

“For years ministers have promised working people improved rights and protections. But they have repeatedly failed to deliver. It’s time for the Government to get a grip on workers’ rights. Without action on rights, the Government risks repeating the mistakes that followed the last financial crisis and letting insecure work spiral again.

“Ministers must seize the opportunity to build back fairer post-pandemic and put an end to the scourge of insecure work by banning zero-hours contracts.”