Staff would turn down promotion to keep flexibility at work

The employment rights act was a key plank of Labour's 2024 manifesto Half of the UK’s part-time staff would turn down a promotion if it meant losing the flexibility of their current role, according to fresh polling, leading industry chiefs to warn against an overzealous crackdown on agile working. The Yougov data, commissioned (BRC) and shared exclusively with City AM, found exactly 50 per cent of Brits who opt not to work five days a week would only accept more responsibility if they could keep their part-time status. The government is currently considering how to enforce parts of its flagship Employment Rights Act, which includes a promise to guarantee staff a minimum number of hours and “end exploitative zero-hours contracts”. The sweeping package has enjoyed strong support from unions and been hailed “biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation”. But employers and industry chiefs have warned some measures will choke off job opportunities for young and flexible staff, amplifying the UK’s youth joblessness crisis. Opposition has been particularly fervent from the hospitality and retail sectors, which employ a disproportionate number of staff on part-time and zero-hours contracts. Responding to the polling, BRC chief Helen Dickinson told City AM that an overly strict interpretation could kill off workers’ aspirations to “move forward in their careers”. “The Employment Rights Act offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to strengthen worker rights, but how it is implemented will be critical,” she added. “Government must strike the right balance .” Staff face missing out on seasonal work Next’s boss Simon Wolfson, who is a sitting peer in the House of Lords, has also become an outspoken critic of the act’s flexible working measures. The industry veteran added several amendments to the bill when it was being debated in parliament, warning the guaranteed hours posed a problem for retailers given the sector’s seasonal nature. “The risk is you then have to contract for those hours forever,” he told the BBC in an interview, adding that retailers can’t afford to “have the same number of people in your shop in February as you have in and around Christmas”. As part of the sweeping employment reforms, ministers established the Fair Work Agency, a new regulator to oversee employers’ adherence to the raft of fresh legislation. The watchdog will be responsible for setting the so-called ‘hours threshold’, above which employers will be obliged to offer staff a more permanent contract.