Employment

In recent years government has taken steps to tackle the problem of late payment, introducing measures such as the Small Business Commissioner and the Payment Practices Reporting Regulations.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has opened a consultation seeking ethnicity pay reporting by employers.

It sets out options and asks questions on:

• What ethnicity pay information should be reported by employers to allow for meaningful action
• Who should be expected to report
• Next steps

The objective of the consultation is to enable government and employers to move forward in a consistent and transparent way. Consultation responses will inform future government policy on ethnicity pay reporting.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has launched a consultation on the Government's Loneliness Strategy. The Government’s Loneliness Strategy will be its first step in tackling the long-term challenge of loneliness.

HM Treasury has launched a consultation seeking views on whether the options proposed in the Taylor Review of Modern Work Practices could achieve more certainty and clarity for businesses when determining employment status, particularly in relation to the realities of the modern labour market

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has launched a consultation seeking views on the recommendations in the Taylor review of modern working practices that focus on increasing transparency between employers and individuals in the UK labour market

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has opened a consultation seeking views on the recommendations in the Review of Modern Working Practices on the enforcement of employment rights

The Low Pay Commission have launched their consultation on the future of National Minimum Wage and the National Living Wage rates.

The Financial Reporting Council has opened a consultation on proposals for a revised UK Corporate Governance Code to reflect the changing business environment and help UK companies achieve the highest levels of governance

The Low Pay Commission (LPC) have launched their consultation on future National Minimum Wage and the National Living Wage rates. In its annual submission to the Low Pay Commission, ACS has raised concerns about the measures that retailers are being forced to take as a result of the National Living Wage increasing to £7.50 per hour in April 2017. Key figures from the submission include:

The Taylor Review regards employment practices in the modern economy. It will consider how employment practices need to change in order to keep pace with modern business models.

The review will evaluate whether the regulatory environment can be better aligned with a changing labour market and the emerging ‘gig’ economy.

It will focus on six key themes, namely security, pay and rights; progression and training; the balance of rights and responsibilities for new business models; representation; under-represented groups; and new business models.