2nd September 2024
Curry house owners face paying thousands of pounds in fines if they do not uphold new protections for employees introduced by Labour as part of its overhaul of workers’ rights.
Government ministers are considering a warning system which would allow companies to make improvements before being hit with fines. But business leaders have called for small businesses to be exempt from any financial sanctions to prevent government “overreach” that would damage economic growth.
The sanctions regime will be overseen by a new Fair Work Agency (FWA), which will bring together existing watchdogs into a single enforcement body for workers’ rights.
However, Craig Beaumont, from the Federation of Small Businesses, feared the government was focusing too much on large corporations and said ministers should exempt smaller firms from any fines. It is understood ministers are still debating at what level financial penalties should be set, but they are likely to be in the lower thousands due to worries that any “punitive” levels would impact business confidence.
Currently six bodies plus local councils can enforce working regulations, overseen and funded by seven government departments. Some of these can impose fines but only in specific circumstances, and a report by the Resolution Foundation, a think tank, found that the sanctions regime was “fragmented” with “financial penalties too low to act as a meaningful deterrent”.
The creation of the FWA is part of a package of reforms to rights for workers which will also include a ban on “exploitative” zero-hours contracts, granting day-one rights, after probation, on sick leave and unfair dismissal, and allowing employees to apply for flexible working with a presumption to approve the request. It will also create a right to switch off, through a code of conduct between bosses and employees over when they should be expected to be contacted about work.