Government responds to the Taylor Review

What is the Taylor Review?

The Government has published a review into working practices in the modern economy. The review, led by Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the Royal Society of the Arts, has made various recommendations.

This month, the Government responded to the Taylor Review. The full report can be found at: https://goo.gl/KypbYB

Four consultation documents have been published:

• Employment status
• Agency Work
• Transparency in the Labour Market; and
• Enforcement of Employment Rights

These consultation documents seek to obtain our opinion of the Review’s proposal. The consultation sets deadlines ranging from May 2018 – June 2018.

It is concerning that there is still nothing concrete in relation to the employment status, which the Government has been looking in to for anumber of years.

What happens now?

The consultations will continue until May/June 2018. However, I do not consider that we will receive a response from the Government by the end of this year.

The Government will decide how it wishes to proceed and then develop an Employment Bill. There may be some further consultation, but this will yet to be seen.

With all that is happening with Brexit and the Government having their hands full with “other things”, I doubt that the Government has much time to develop a major reform of employment law.

The definition of employee and worker has been a long-standing issue, there have been several cases at the Tribunal. I do not think the Government will make much progress this year in relation to providing any clarity on the status of workers, however, I suspect more progress will be made by the courts to define the status. So, keep your eye out for the Supreme Court’s decision in the Pimlico Plumbers case this month.

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