Link to Commons debate.

Rights in Commerce Bill

An bill to introduce regulations on statutory overtime pay and reform laws concerning Trading Hours

BE IT ENACTED by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

Part I: Definitions

1. A reference period shall be defined as either 17 weeks (26 weeks in the excepted cases outlined in (Part 1)(1)(3) or the period which has elapsed since employment, whichever is greater.

   1. “Average working time for each seven days” shall be defined by the equation [(A B)/C] where:
      1. A is defined as the aggregate number of hours comprised in the worker’s working time during the course of the reference period;
      2. B is defined as the aggregate number of hours comprised in the worker’s working time during the course of the period beginning immediately after the end of the reference period and ending when the number of days in that subsequent period on which he has worked equals the number of excluded days during the reference period;
      3. C is the number of weeks in the reference period.
   2. A qualifying retail worker is defined as an individual employed in a business covered by the provisions of the Sunday Trading Act 1994, Sunday Working (Scotland) Act 2003, or Shops (Sunday Trading &c.) (Northern Ireland) Order 1997, as amended by this act.
   3. An excepted case to section (Part 1)(1)(1) shall be defined as one meeting at least one of the following conditions:
      1. (i) where the worker’s activities are such that his place of work and place of residence are distant from one another or his different places of work are distant from one another;
      2. (ii) where the worker is engaged in security and surveillance activities requiring a permanent presence in order to protect property and persons, as may be the case for security guards and caretakers or security firms;
      3. (iii) where the worker’s activities involve the need for continuity of service or production, as may be the case in relation to—
         1. services relating to the reception, treatment or care provided by hospitals or similar establishments, residential institutions and prisons;
         2. work at docks or airports;
         3. press, radio, television, cinematographic production, postal and telecommunications services and civil protection services;
         4. gas, water and electricity production, transmission and distribution, household refuse collection and incineration;
         5. industries in which work cannot be interrupted on technical grounds;
         6. research and development activities;
         7. Agriculture;
      4. where there is a foreseeable surge of activity, as may be the case in relation to—
         1. agriculture;
         2. tourism; and
         3. postal services;
      5. where the worker’s activities are affected by—
         1. an occurrence due to unusual and unforeseeable circumstances, beyond the control of the worker’s employer;
         2. exceptional events, the consequences of which could not have been avoided despite the exercise of all due care by the employer; or
         3. an accident or the imminent risk of an accident.

Part II: Regulations

1. An individual whose average working time for each seven days in the reference period which is applicable in their case exceeds 40 hours shall be entitled to overtime compensation of no less than fifty percent of their average non-overtime hourly wage upon each hour worked during the reference period above this level.

2. An individual whose average working time for each seven days in the reference period which is applicable in their case exceeds 35 hours shall be entitled to overtime compensation of no less than twenty-five percent of their average non-overtime hourly wage upon each hour worked above this level but not covered by section (Part 2)(1)

3. A qualifying retail worker employed working between the hours of 11pm and 7am shall be paid overtime of no less than fifty percent of their average non-overtime hourly wage upon each hour worked during such hours.

4. All rights under the Working Time Regulations 1998 shall remain in force, including the right to opt out of the 48 hour maximum working time.

5. An individual earning a pre-tax amount, before statutory overtime is applied, totaling more than £13,333 in a 17-week reference period (or a proportionally-adjusted total amount in their applicable reference period), shall be permitted to voluntarily opt out entirely from section (Part 2)(2) and to reduce the overtime compensation in section (Part 2)(1) from fifty to twenty-five percent.

6. An individual earning a pre-tax amount, before statutory overtime is applied, totaling more than £16,666 in a 17-week reference period (or a proportionally-adjusted total amount in their applicable reference period), shall additionally be permitted to voluntarily opt out entirely from section (Part 2)(1)if they so choose, but shall be entitled to only avail of the opt-out in section (Part 2)(6).

7. The amounts mentioned in the previous two sections may be adjusted each January in line with the Consumer Price Index.

Part III: Trading Hours

Section 1: Sunday Trading

1. Schedule 1 of the Sunday Trading Act 1994, and sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Shops (Sunday Trading &c.) (Northern Ireland) Order 1997, shall be repealed.

2. Shops of any size may open on Sunday across the United Kingdom at any time unless prohibited from doing so by laws relevant to all days of the week.

3. Workers shall retain the right to opt out of Sunday working in shops of any size pursuant to the provisions of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and Sunday Working (Scotland) Act 2003.

Section 2: Christmas Day and Easter Trading

1. Section 1 of the Christmas Day (Trading) Act 2004 is hereby repealed.

2. Shops of any size may elect to open on Easter Sunday.

3. An employee at any private organisation (even non-shops) with a contract that does not explicitly grant Christmas Day and Easter Sunday as holiday is entitled to opt out of working on either day without negative consequence.

   1. An employee utilising this opt-out must inform their employer of their intention to opt-out 7 days before that day occurs, and
      1. should this employee later decide they no longer wish to opt-out, their employer is under no obligation to provide them with work on these days for the duration of their contract.

Part IV: Enactment and Short Title

1. This bill shall come into effect six months after receiving Royal Assent.
2. This bill may be cited as the Rights in Commerce Act 2016.
3. This bill shall extend to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

This bill was written and submitted by The Rt Hon. /u/colossalteuthid MP and The Rt Hon. /u/Demon4372, Earl of Dwyfor AL PC

The voting period for this bill will end at 10PM BST on the 2nd of December.

Vote Aye, No or Abstain. Comments with anything else will be deleted. Comments that are edited will be void and not counted.

If a member is voting by proxy, they must have gained permission from the speaker prior to this vote. If no permission was sought and granted, their vote will not be counted.

For full clarifications on the voting system see this post.