Speeches by Smith.

“Q Thank you for being with us. Can you give us your view on whether the Bill goes far enough to combat the issues that you campaign on, particularly women’s rights at work? Where would you like to see elements of it amended, either to make it stronger or to get rid of things that might have unintended consequences, and…”

“Q You used the term “working people”, which is something that some struggle to define. Can you define “working person”, and does that include someone who runs a business? Are they a working person? Hannah Reed: There are already statutory definitions in legislation of who is a worker. It will generally be workers—in so…”

“Q Before the other witnesses come in, the impact assessment suggests that the Bill will result in a £5 billion cost to business, and we heard this morning at a session with representatives from business that that was actually a lowball estimate. How do you work out that it might lead to increased wages if the cost on b…”

“Q Thank you, Ms Vaz, and good afternoon to the witnesses. In the last session, it was suggested that this Bill might lead to the re-unionisation of the economy. Do you agree with that? Paul Nowak: I think this will be the biggest upgrade to workers’ and trade union rights in a generation. It is very likely that we will…”

“Q Do you have any views on the Bill’s provisions on trade union facility time? Mick Lynch: Not particularly. We make arrangements with our employers—we have private sector employers and public sector employers—through collective agreements. I imagine that we will always create decent arrangements with all our employers…”

“Sure. Martyn Gray: No, is the very short answer to that. It needs to go further in terms of protections for those who work at sea. There are still monumental gaps in the protections that are afforded to seafarers compared with the protections afforded to land-based workers, even under existing employment legislation, a…”

“Mr Gray? Martyn Gray: To clarify, I am a director of organising for a trade union, so I will answer from the perspective of whether the legislation goes far enough, if that is okay.”

“Yes. Gemma Griffin: No, is the answer, because we are very much trying to create a situation in which our colleagues have rights and are treated fairly. The most important thing is that there is a level playing field and that whoever operates in the same space as us, the law applies to them. If we are all UK-based and …”

“But on the question about the unintended consequences of elements of the Bill— Gemma Griffin: Do I see any unintended consequences for our land-based employees?”

“Q What about your ports-based staff—your land-based staff? Gemma Griffin: Our land-based staff are already covered.”

“Q Good afternoon to the witnesses. When any wide-reaching legislation that is seeking to make a number of changes to employment law comes in, there are likely to be unintended consequences. I will put the question in two halves. To Ms Griffin and Mr Gray, do you see any unintended consequences that could damage your bu…”

“Q We heard from witnesses in previous sessions that they worry that some measures in the Bill—on zero-hours contracts and some of the fire and rehire potential unintended consequences—will make some employers more reticent to take on a new hire, or to take a gamble on someone who might need a chance or second chance, o…”

“Q Good afternoon, gentlemen. I will ask you the same questions I have asked most witnesses today. This is a thick Bill; there are lots of measures in it. In the interests of the people you represent in food, drink and manufacturing, which of those measures have the Government got wrong? Which are in the right ballpark,…”

“Q Mr Carberry, if I can come to you, looking at those you represent, what is it in the Bill that you think is right, wrong or needs amendment? Neil Carberry: I will not repeat what Allen said about the aggregate cost of the Bill, but clearly it is an enormous piece of legislation, coming at a time when businesses—parti…”

“Q Have you had any feedback from your members on their willingness going forward to take on the very people you have just talked about—employees with caring responsibilities, students, people with complex situations in their lives who find a zero-hours contract useful—and whether some of them are reticent about taking …”

“Q How many of the employees in the UK hospitality sector are currently on zero-hours contracts? Allen Simpson: It is about 17% in total. If you look at who those people are, they are largely who you would think—students and people with caring responsibilities. I think about my mum, who worked on what we would now call …”

“Q Can you give us a hint of the ambers? It is important that the Committee knows where different sectors are concerned. Allen Simpson: There is something around statutory sick pay, which is worth considering. There is a tendency, when we look at what a good job means, to build around the paradigm of an office, when wor…”

“Q Mr Carberry, I will come to you shortly, but Mr Simpson, to continue that theme: this is a pretty wide-ranging Bill with a lot of measures. Which of them do you think the Government have got wrong, which you would like to see either deleted or amended? Allen Simpson: I have a red, amber and green list in front of me,…”

“Q33 Thank you, Ms Vaz. It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair and to serve under your chairmanship. Good afternoon. May I start with Mr Simpson? UKHospitality has been quite critical of this Bill in the media and in a wider setting. You have just said you represent a very large number of people. Do you think after th…”

“A couple of weeks ago I held a roundtable with some Mid Buckinghamshire farmers on the measures required to mitigate flooding, especially after extreme weather events such as Storm Bert this weekend. At the top of the list was the point that my hon. Friend the Member for North Dorset (Simon Hoare) made about dredging a…”