The business secretary has defended Labour’s plans to introduce new flexible working laws, calling it “bizarre” that Jacob Rees-Mogg had launched a “war on people working from home”.
The comments by Jonathan Reynolds come as he and the communities secretary, Angela Rayner, attempt to thrash out the final details of the workers’ rights legislation in time for the employment bill that is expected to be introduced in the first fortnight of October.
One area of contention is day-one rights, which Labour intends to introduce to give people the right to sick leave, maternity pay and the right to sue for unfair dismissal from day one of their employment, rather than after a longer period.
Rayner is understood to believe that probation periods should still apply but should remain at the industry norm of three to six months. There are pressures from senior industry figures, however, to allow longer probation periods of up to a year. The issue is reportedly a source of tension between Rayner and Reynolds.
Reynolds said in an interview with the Times on Tuesday that he would press ahead with key changes to flexible working laws, which he said could reduce regional inequality and contribute to productivity. He said the minimum wage should also be increased in order to guarantee “a decent quality of life”.
Among the changes the government has pledged to bring in are a ban on the use of zero-hours contracts, apart from when an employee specifically requests one; making flexible working the default; ending restrictions on trade union organising; and ending fire-and-rehire policies. The bill was promised to come within 100 days, which means it should be tabled before the October budget.
Reynolds said there was no reason for anyone to object to working from home as long as it was managed well. “We’ve had flexible working laws for quite some time in the UK. I think where people reach agreement with their employer … it does contribute to productivity, it does contribute to their resilience, their ability to stay working for an employer.”
He added: “The UK has very significant regional inequality. It could play a significant contribution to tackling that.”
Reynolds said he had been alarmed at the Conservatives’ approach to working from home, especially in the civil service. He said: “Jacob Rees-Mogg made this big thing as business secretary, declaring war on people working from home. That’s pretty bizarre given the economic position the country was in and the real business agenda that needs to be pursued.”
He said that for employers there was “genuinely nothing to worry about” regarding plans to introduce the right for employees to disconnect, meaning they cannot be contacted outside work hours.
“Good employers understand that their workforce, to keep them motivated and resilient, they do need to judge people on outcomes and not a culture of presenteeism,” he said.
