Bosses who contact their employees out of hours could be forced to shell out thousands of pounds under a new scheme drawn up by Angela Rayner.
The Deputy PM is looking to follow through with a Labour commitment to hand workers the “right to switch off” – bringing the UK into step with a raft of EU countries which have introduced similar laws.
Rayner’s plans will enforce a “code of practice”, signed off by employers and employees, which will set strict expectations on when staff can expect to be contacted outside of normal hours.
If workers feel sufficiently aggrieved, bosses could face fines of thousands of pounds at employment tribunals – though it’s understood that this would only apply to repeat offenders, and even then only as part of broader claims tabled by staff.
The move falls under Labour’s Employment Rights Bill as enshrined in this year’s King’s Speech, which also seeks to ban zero-hours contracts, and protect sick pay and unfair dismissal claims.
One Government source told the Times that any “right to switch off” plans were still up in the air.
They said: “This is an ongoing discussion – we’ve not settled on a position yet, [but] it has to be specific to each workplace and therefore it has to be something that businesses and their workforce agree among themselves rather than a diktat.
“We’re conscious of the disproportionate impacts of these sort of policies on smaller businesses – that will factor in to how we draft it.”
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Top Sunak ally emerges as frontrunner to take Tory leadership – new poll
The Shadow Home Secretary has been backed as the most popular of the six leadership hopefuls
PA
James Cleverly has been tipped to replace Rishi Sunak as Conservative Party leader, according to a new survey of Tory members.
The polling has tipped the Shadow Home Secretary as the most popular of the six leadership hopefuls – with the backing of 26 per cent of the party faithful.
Other former Government heavy-hitters Dame Priti Patel and bookies’ favourite Kemi Badenoch sit at a respective second and third, with the former polling at 20 per cent, and the latter at 14.
Next up among the leadership pretenders sits Tom Tugendhat at 11 per cent, Robert Jenrick at 10 per cent, and Mel Stride at four per cent.
The polling – carried out by Cleverly’s campaign – stands in contrast to broader YouGov surveys which tip Tom Tugendhat as a favourite among the general public.
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