As no amendments were submitted, the bill goes straight to final division

Terms and Conditions of Employment (Maximum Working Time Agreements) Bill

A

BILL

TO

Restrict the use of opt outs to the 48 hour working time limit to emergencies only and to prevent new hires being conditional upon an opt out.

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:—

Section 1: Amendment to the Working Time Regulations 1998

(1) In Part II, Section 5 of the aforementioned regulations, in section 2(a) strike “or apply indefinitely” and insert in its place “of up to 90 days”

(2) In Part II, Section 5 of the aforementioned regulations, insert after subsection 2;

(3) An agreement for the purposes of paragraph (1) must be made in response to a clear, serious and present emergency, and disregarded once the period of emergency has passed.

Section 2: Prohibition of conditional hiring

(1) An employer may not make an offer of employment conditional upon the agreement of an opt out from the maximum weekly working time specified in the Working Time Regulations 1998.

Section 3: Commencement, Extent and Short Title

(1) This Act shall come into force one month after Royal Assent.

(2) This Act shall extend to England, Wales and Scotland.

(3) This Act shall be known as the Terms and Conditions of Employment (Maximum Working Time Agreements) Act 2021.

This bill was written by the Secretary of State for Work and Welfare, the Right Honourable Dame SpectacularSalad GCMG OM CT CBE PC MP on behalf of Her Majesty’s Government.

Section 2 of this bill amends Part 2, Section 5 of the Working Time Regulations 1998

Opening Speech:

Madame Speaker,

This legislation is intended to largely remove the opt out provided for employees from the Maximum Weekly Working time. This is a statutory limit of an average of 48 hours over a period of seventeen weeks.

While in theory such an opt out can only be exercised as a matter of employee choice, employers are fully allowed to make signing an agreement to exceed the Maximum Working Time conditional for employment, and may also apply such agreements without limits to time or scope. This encourages abuse of this opt out, and it is unclear why businesses that are not already exempt under the 1998 regulations would have a genuine need for such practices.

As such, this legislation limits any opt out to up to 90 days, and requires that they be in response to a clear and serious emergency, allowing flexibility where necessary for serious situations, while allowing routine workers to enjoy the safety defacto that they are afforded de jure.

Lords may Vote Content, Not Content, or Present

Vote ends on the 9th December at 10pm GMT