Business leaders collaborate to Make Work Pay

British workers are set for better working conditions as the Government takes its first steps towards its Plan to Make Work Pay.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Business Secretary convened a meeting with trade unions and business leaders in a first-of-its-kind meeting 14th August 2024.

They agreed to wipe the slate clean and begin a new relationship of respect and collaboration to help deliver the Government’s first mission – to kickstart economic growth.

They discussed views on the Employment Rights Bill and wider Plan to Make Work Pay, with the Deputy Prime Minister and Business Secretary.

This comes soon after the Deputy Prime Minster and Business Secretary decided to overhaul the remit of the Low Pay Commission to deliver early progress on the Make Work Pay plan and put more money in working people’s pockets.

The Employment Rights Bill – which will play a key role in delivering the Plan to Make Work Pay – will be introduced within 100 days of entering Government.

As part of its Make Work Pay plan, the Government has committed to:

• Ban exploitative zero hours contracts
• End fire and rehire
• Introduce basic rights from day one to parental leave, sick pay, and protection from unfair dismissal
• Strengthen the collective voice of workers, including through their trade unions, and create a Single Enforcement Body to ensure employment rights are upheld
• Make sure the minimum wage is a genuine living wage by changing the remit of the independent Low Pay Commission so for the first time it accounts for the cost of living
• Remove the discriminatory age bands, so all adults are entitled to the same minimum wage, delivering a pay rise to hundreds of thousands of workers across the UK