Usdaw welcomes a requirement on employers to prevent harassment and grant trade union access to workplaces, together with new legal rights for workplace equality reps

Joanne Thomas – Usdaw general secretary says: “The Employment Rights Act is the biggest uplift in workers’ rights in a generation and delivers on many of the campaigns Usdaw has been running over the years. The Act is very important to our members and, crucially, helps to protect decent employers from being undercut by the worst who exploit workers.

“While many retail workers have seen a rise in customer abuse, for women this often takes the form of sexist remarks and behaviours, and so-called jokes about their appearance and bodies. Usdaw’s survey of members found seven in ten women have experienced some form of sexual harassment at work. Young women are particularly at risk, with 90% reporting sexual harassment in the last twelve months. Most did not tell their employer. We now have a Government that is taking these issues seriously and taking action. The Employment Rights Act requires employers to take positive steps to protect staff from harassment by customers and other third parties.

“Trade union access to workplaces is good for business and staff. Trade unions have a positive impact in the workplace, providing staff with support, advice and representation, while giving them a collective voice. We urge employers who have previously resisted trade unions to engage with Usdaw, following the lead of John Lewis Partnership who signed a new recognition agreement with us last week.

Today, for the very first time, equality reps gain a legal right to a reasonable amount of paid time off and training, mirroring existing rights for union learning reps. Placing equality reps on a similar statutory footing to other workplace reps recognises the important role they can play in creating fairer, safer and more inclusive workplaces.

“As we get into the details of implementation for the remaining parts of the Act, it will be essential that there are no loopholes for unscrupulous employers to exploit, and that all workers benefit from these new rights. A key future test for the Government will be on guaranteed hours contracts. Ministers are currently considering their response to the consultation, but have already expressed a preference to narrow the right to workers contracted for less than 20 hours. This threshold does not meet Labour’s 2024 manifesto commitment to ‘everyone’.

“The right to a contract that guarantees the hours you normally work is a matter of basic fairness and security. Many of our members are regularly working hours that aren’t guaranteed in their contract, which has a massive impact on their lives. The right has the potential to provide much greater security for millions of low-paid workers and must apply to everyone, up to and including full-time workers. We absolutely cannot have loopholes that make this meaningless.”