MU welcomes Employment Rights Bill

The Musicians’ Union (MU) has welcomed the UK government’s new Employment Rights Bill. Unveiled yesterday (10 October), the new Bill is the result of ‘years of union work’ on the New Deal for Working People and is intended to support economic security and growth for businesses and workers across the UK.

As a Labour affiliated trade union, the Musicians’ Union (MU) has been an ‘intrinsic part’ of New Deal discussions and has confirmed in a statement released yesterday it is ‘delighted’ to see the Bill’s proposals to strengthen employment rights for all workers, whether they are employed or self-employed, including measures relating to zero hours contracts, the gender pay gap and day one employment rights.

MU general secretary Naomi Pohl said: ‘The MU will continue to meet directly with Ministers over the coming months to fine tune policies that directly affect the self-employed, which need additional legal scrutiny. It’s fantastic to see Labour raising the bar to stop sexual harassment and protect workers by including liability for third-party harassment, which is a big issue for our members… We also welcome the strengthening of protections around pregnancy and maternity and we hope that this will give more reassurance to new mothers and parents working in the music industry and make it easier for them to assert their rights. Work to close gender pay gaps by asking employers to develop, publish and implement action plans will allow workers to hold employees accountable and should ensure that there is real progress to address women's inequality in employment.’

The Bill covers a broad range of issues and so some issues will be tackled in secondary legislation, consultation and further detail. The Government intends to consult and legislate on further issues around self-employment, such as late payment of fees and the right to a written contract, over the next few months.