The government’s publication of the Employment Bill promises tougher penalties for employers who break the law and will provide temporary workers with greater protection.
The Bill aims to improve the effectiveness of employment law and will benefit trade unions, employers, employees and the public sector.
Penalties will be introduced for businesses that do not pay their staff the minimum wage and for agencies that exploit their staff and sabotage legitimate businesses.
In addition, changes made to the dispute resolution system aim to lighten the regulatory burden on businesses and help a greater number of workplace disputes to be settled quicker and informally.
“The national minimum wage was a key right this government introduced to ensure workers were paid fairly,” said Pat McFadden, employment relations minister.
“These changes would make sure everyone who is caught not paying their workers will be punished, with the potential for unlimited fines.”
He added that the changes would ease burdens for businesses and employees by getting rid of statutory processes for dispute resolution, as well as ensuring that there would be no discrimination in employees’ rights.
“No business should be allowed to get away with unfairly undercutting legitimate operators by exploiting workers,” warned McFadden.
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2007
