Two thirds of Britons support restricting zero hours contracts and extending right to flexible hours, but only 22% support removing turnout requirement for strike action
One of Labour’s key pledges in their election manifesto was their commitment to deliver a ‘New Deal for Working People’, including bringing forward new legislation on workers’ rights within their first 100 days in office. Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner had previously described the plans as “the biggest upgrade of workers’ rights in a generation”.
Last week, they fulfilled their promise, with the Employment Rights Bill being introduced to the House of Commons. But how do Britons feel about the core reforms it contains?
Many of the principles behind the proposed expansion of employees’ rights have clear support.
The bill will heavily restrict the use of zero hours contracts, with employees having the right to a guaranteed number of hours if they wish. This is in tune with the public, with a YouGov survey for The Times in September finding 68% in favour of banning at least some types of zero hours contracts, against only one in nine (11%) who are opposed to any restrictions on them.
Two thirds of Britons (65%) also wish to see people’s right to work flexible hours expanded, so should be pleased to see the government is legislating for flexible working to be the default, with an employer having to prove that it’s unreasonable for them to be able to reject it.
Likewise, just over six in ten Britons (62%) are supportive of proposals to extend the legal right to sick pay, and to give employees protections against unfair dismissal as soon as they start a job, rather than after two years of employment as is currently the case. In both cases, less than one in five Britons (17-19%) are opposed to the plans.
Giving employees a legal right to ‘switch off’ and not be contacted by their employers outside working hours holds similar support, being favoured by seven in ten Britons (69%). This policy is not included in the bill, but will instead be consulted on, with the intention of being legislated for in future.
Separately, YouGov has also found overwhelming support from nine in ten Britons (89%) for proposals included in the bill which will ensure that all tips must be passed onto employees, with only 4% of the public opposed to such a law.
Support for changes to trade union rights is not as widespread, though half of Britons (48%) do still favour making it easier for unions to gain recognition and negotiating powers in workplaces, compared to only one in five (21%) who are opposed.
It is the bill’s removal of the turnout threshold for strike ballots that attracts the least support of the proposals polled. At present, a turnout of 50% is required for a ballot on industrial action to be valid, with higher thresholds required in key public services. Doing away with the threshold, as Labour’s bill proposes, is supported by only 22% of Britons, with twice as many (44%) being against such a move.
Who supports the employment rights reforms?
Of the key employment rights reforms polled, Labour voters are consistently the most supportive, with around eight in ten (78-81%) in favour of reforms to zero hours contracts, flexible working and unfair dismissal. Lib Dem voters are also largely sympathetic, with between two-thirds and three-quarters (66-76%) supporting such changes.
But there’s also support among voters of right-wing parties. Two thirds of Reform UK voters (68%) approve of restrictions on zero hours contracts, while around half (47-51%) are in favour of expanding flexible working, sick pay and protections against unfair dismissal. Conservatives tend to be a little less supportive, but for the five employment rights reforms polled, support (40-55%) is always higher than opposition (20-37%).
The picture is less uniform, however, when looking at trade union reforms. While 68% of Labour and 55% of Lib Dem voters support making it easier for unions to gain recognition in the workplace, this is true of only 32% of Reform UK voters and 18% of Conservatives.
And while Labour voters are split 32% to 31% on whether they support or oppose removing the turnout requirement for strike action, Lib Dems voters tend to be opposed (25% vs 43%), with Reform UK voters (11% vs 67%) and Conservatives (7% to 75%) predominantly negative.
What do Britons think of the employment reforms overall?
Regardless of differences on individual policies, though, the overall package is favourably viewed. Six in ten Britons (60%) think that the above changes to employment rights would be the right thing to do, against only one in six (17%) who see them as the wrong thing.
Labour voters are largely positive about the programme, eight in ten (81%) seeing it as the right move, with two-thirds of Lib Dems (67%) agreeing. Those on the right are more split, with Reform UK voters dividing 41% to 37% and Conservatives 33% to 42% over whether the whole slate of changes is right or wrong.
But no matter whether the reforms are seen as generally positive, a key debate is their impact on the economy, with prime minister Keir Starmer defending them from criticism by stating that they would ultimately be ‘pro-growth’.
One third of Britons (32%) tend to agree with the prime minister, expecting that the reforms would overall make a positive difference to the economy, while a further third (33%) expect them to make no real difference in the end. Just one in six (17%) think that these changes to employment rights would have a negative economic effect.
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Photo: Getty
