CBI's response to the government's consultation on the Taylor review

In response to a series of BEIS consultations on transparency, enforcement, agency work and employment status the CBI has set out a series of recommendations that will help to boost the quality of work in the UK labour market.

The consultations follow on from the Independent Review of Employment Practices in the Modern Economy led by Matthew Taylor in 2017.

An important factor in improving the quality of UK jobs is ensuring that key labour market structures and our legal framework are working effectively. If this is not the case, then businesses do not have the conditions they need to create new working opportunities. It also results in firms and workers being unsure of their rights and obligations.

In its written submission to the consultation on transparency, enforcement and agency workers, Good work is flexible and fair, the CBI stresses that evidence-based debates and solutions are needed to ensure that our labour market offers a wide range of opportunities to suit everyone, from flexible work to permanent employment:

• Increase transparency through new requirements to provide basic information to workers and through fair and consistent application of rules.
• Take steps to make Employment Tribunals more effective and less legalistic so they can rule quickly on important cases.
• Ensure that additional proactive enforcement is well-targeted.

In its written submission to the consultation on employment status, ‘Chasing status’, the CBI said that the worker status is the bedrock of the flexible labour market and delivers as intended, calling on the government to:

• Safeguard the flexibility of the UK labour market that workers want and businesses need
• Retain the worker status as part of the existing three-tier employment status framework, and to not codify employment status case law as this would create new uncertainties and make the law less effective in the long-term
• Maintain the status test in its current form as well as the principles used to determine status.

CBI will continue to work closely with BEIS contacts to ensure that the views of our members are front of mind as they consider their next steps on the good work agenda.

These responses build on the initial submission made by the CBI to Matthew Taylor’s review in 2017 – Work that works for all.