On 17 December 2018, the UK government released the “Good Work Plan,” which sets out its vision for the future of the UK labour market. This is the latest implementation of the Taylor Review and proposes legislative changes “to ensure that workers can access fair and decent work, that both employers and workers have the clarity they need to understand their employment relationships, and that the enforcement system is fair and fit for purpose”. In its press release, the government labeled it as “the biggest package of workplace reforms for over 20 years." Some of the key changes include:
General Employment Rights From April 2020
While the plan addresses all the Taylor Review recommendations, it is very short on detail as to how or when the most major reforms will be implemented and what much of the important legislative detail will look like. Perhaps most crucially, there is still little clarity around the gig economy and whether the worker status questions that are still trundling through the courts will be dealt with via legislation. Instead, the Plan states that detailed proposals will be published in due course. After taking 17 months to consider the Taylor Review, and undertaking four public consultations, it is likely that many will be sceptical as to whether what is being promised will actually happen. Whether or not the “biggest package of workplace reforms” will match the government’s rhetoric remains to be seen.