Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 18th April 2024 Issue no. 1110

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BCC to help shape future labour market enforcement strategy

The British Cleaning Council is to be consulted on national strategy for labour market enforcement for 2020/21.

Matthew Taylor, who was responsible for the independent Taylor Review of modern working practices, was appointed interim director of Labour Market Enforcement in August 2019.

The role includes setting priorities for the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority and the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate, along with minimum wage enforcement, and Mr Taylor has written to stakeholders - including the BCC - to share with them his outline work-plan for addressing emerging issues in the labour market next year.

The BCC aims to take part in roundtable discussions with Mr Taylor or to submit written evidence to him, in November and December this year.

Chairman of the BCC Paul Thrupp says of the BCC's involvement: 'We are looking forward to sharing our expert knowledge of working conditions and practices in the cleaning sector with Mr Taylor.

'Legal requirements around part-time and flexible working, pay and conditions are very important to the cleaning sector which, in turn, is hugely important to the UK economy, as it is worth nearly £50bn and employs over 914,000 workers.

'The BCC's role is to represent the voice of the cleaning sector, so it essential that we play our part in shaping the upcoming labour market enforcement strategy which could impact on businesses in our sector.'

The last Labour Market Enforcement Strategy, for 2019-2020, covered three main themes:

* prioritisation of enforcement resources
* helping employers get it right
* using joint working to tackle serious and persistent non-compliance

The strategy identified that the most significant risk of workers being exploited was the car washing, agricultural and care sectors, where there is a larger risk of modern slavery and the facilitation of tax evasion.

The Government recently announced a consultation on a new single labour enforcement body for employment rights, to improve standards and compliance within the labour market.

www.britishcleaningcouncil.org

31st October 2019