Help- 850 miles unsupported!
Before we get to this week’s newsletter I wanted to share something with you. I will shortly be taking a bike ride from Land’s End to John ‘o’ Groats in aid of a local charity I support which provides accommodation for homeless people. Sadly, their services are on the increase.
Nothing unusual about riding from End to End I hear you say. People do it at this time every year when daylight hours are aplenty. Unlike most though, I am riding totally unsupported, so everything I am going to need I will have to carry on the bike, and . . . I am planning to complete the ride in less than 5 days. This will mean taking a nap in a bus shelter or a field as and when needed, so no B&Bs or Premier Inns for me.
It’s all for a good cause, so if you can help me I would really appreciate it. here are a couple of links to my social media and fundraising pages if you want to follow my progress, and if you can take the time to share any of my posts I will be eternally grateful.
Exclusivity Clauses
Exclusivity clauses restrict workers working for multiple employers. Back in 2015 the use of exclusivity clauses in zero hours contracts was banned - a positive step which no doubt helped many thousands of workers.
On the back of that success the government now intends to ban such clauses for those working on a contract where the guaranteed weekly income is on or below the Lower Earnings Limit of £123 a week.
According to the government press release;
“. . . an estimated 1.5 million workers are earning on or below £123 a week and the new reforms will ensure that workers in this group that have exclusivity clauses are able to top up their income with extra work if they choose.”
and
“As well as supporting workers to increase their income, the reforms will also benefit businesses by widening the talent pool of job applicants to those who may have been prevented from applying for roles due to an exclusivity clause with another employer, and also helps businesses to fill vacancies in key sectors like retail and hospitality. The reforms will allow low-paid workers to reskill and make the most of new opportunities in existing sectors with growing labour demand.”
What proportion of those 1.5 million workers are currently bound by an exclusivity clause is not known. But £123 per week amounts to someone working for just under 13 hours - less than two days at full time. That’s not much and I suspect, in the scheme of things, this will not affect many workers at all and have very little impact.
But, as they say; Every Little Helps
What happened to the Employment Bill?
One glaring omission from the Queen’s Speech was the absence of the Employment Bill. The Bill was proposed in the Queen’s Speech three years ago but is still waiting in the sidelines and is set to stay there.
Frances O’Grady, General Secretary of the TUC said:
“Today is a great day for rogue employers. The government’s failure to bring forward an employment bill will leave millions without vital rights and protections. Working people have been conned.”
and tweeted:
There are twice the number of Bills being laid before Parliament as is normal due to the delay in enacting legislation due to Covid, but given the prevalence of employment rights issues cropping up in the media - P&O, fire and rehire, tips and zero hours contracts - one would have expected this Bill to be on the agenda.
Is this a missed opportunity for the government? Please feel free to leave a comment below.
Accrington Asda worker from Ukraine awarded £60k for unfair dismissal
A former Asda worker has been awarded more than £60,000 in compensation after an employment tribunal ruled she had been unfairly dismissed and made subject to harassment on the grounds of her race.
The tribunal, held in Manchester, found Svitlana Henderson had been constructively unfairly dismissed from the Adsa store in Accrington, and had been harassed on the grounds of her race during her employment. Lancashire Telegraph
Budleigh Tesco worker loses scratchcard race discrimination case
A Tesco worker claimed she was racially discriminated against after she was searched after winning £30 on a scratchcard in her store, an employment tribunal heard.
Rosemary Carter worked for six months as a customer assistant at the Tesco Express store in Budleigh Salterton from March 2020 - one of several temporary staff taken on during the pandemic. Exmouth Journal
Tribunal dismisses racial discrimination claims against dance label R&S Records
The head of dance label R&S Records, Renaat Vandepapeliere, has had a claim accusing him of racial discrimination dismissed by an employment tribunal.
Raj Chaudhuri, who acted as a talent scout, sued the label last year, saying he was discriminated against, unlawfully dismissed, and victimised. BBC
Stonewall QC is accused of 'bullying' and 'laughing' at lesbian barrister who is suing the LGBT charity for 'trying to get her sacked over her gender-critical views'
A 'gender-critical' lesbian lawyer who has accused Stonewall of trying to have her sacked over her views on trans women accused the charity's barrister of 'bullying' her and laughing at her at her employment tribunal, it was revealed today.
Allison Bailey, 52, a friend of JK Rowling's, began giving evidence on Wednesday but a row broke out with Ijeoma Omambala QC, Stonewall's barrister, who was cross-examining her. Mail Online