LABOUR are set to U-turn on a proposal to give workers the "right to switch off" outside of working hours for fear it will place too much of a burden on businesses.
The policy had formed a central part of Keir Starmer’s manifesto vow to establish a “new deal for working people”.
The right to switch off policy closely mirrors laws introduced in France in 2017, which were designed to end the “always on” culture by making it illegal for employers to expect their workers to be contactable outside designated work hours.
The Sunday Times has reported that on Tuesday ministers are due to confirm that the policy has been dropped when they table a series of amendments to the bill.
It did not appear in the Employment Bill which is currently making its way through Parliament, but there were promises from ministers it would emerge in future.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds have made the call amid concern that the provision would have placed too much of a burden on businesses.
A government source told the paper: “The right to switch off is dead. We have to lower business compliance costs as much as possible.
"Growth that puts money in people’s pockets is the number-one priority of this government’s ‘plan for change’. That means making Britain the best country in the world in which to do business — and a key part of that is removing unnecessary barriers.”
It is being reported Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who led Labour’s workers’ rights programme while in opposition, has also agreed to the move.
Rayner’s original programme had already been rebranded as “Labour’s plan to make work pay” in May and had a commitment on ending zero-hours contracts reworded to focus on “exploitative” zero-hours arrangements.
The move is also likely to spark fierce criticism from the Labour's trade union backers, who have been vocal advocates of legal protections to separate work and home life.
In changes to the bill, ministers are set to announce a “lighter touch” approach towards probation periods, signalling a preference to set probation periods at nine months rather than the six demanded by union leaders.
Elsewhere though, day-one protections against unfair dismissal and policies relating to other rights such as paternity leave and unpaid parental leave will remain in the bill, it has been reported.
Zero-hours contracts will still be curtailed, and workers given individual rights to guaranteed hours, while trade union representation and the ability to strike will be made easier by repealing Conservative laws.
In excess of 850 companies — more than double the number of trade unions and worker representation bodies — have responded to a consultation announced last autumn on changing workers’ rights.
Businesses are bracing for rises in the national minimum wage and employer national insurance contributions coming into force next month as a result of Reeves’s Budget last autumn.
