Clause 2 - Statutory paternity pay
Employment Bill
3:45 pm
Miss Judy Mallaber (Amber Valley, Labour)
I wish to add a point to the excellent contributions made by previous speakers and urge the Minister to reconsider the amendments and the point just raised about the prevalence of part-time workers who fall below the LEL. My hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster, North gave various explanations as to why people might fall below the LEL, including low basic hours and juggling several different part-time jobs.
The Minister made an excellent appearance before the Employment Sub-Committee of the Select Committee on Education and Employment, of which I was a member in the last Parliament. We discussed the question of part-time workers' rights and the implementation of the directive. The Government put
forward proposals that later came into effect to end discrimination against part-time workers. I urge the Minister to consider the amendments in the light of the Government's agenda on that item.
My hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster, North spoke about consistency of Government objectives, specifically for social exclusion. Perhaps the Minister would consider the amendments in the light of our agenda on rights for part-time workers and people who work difficult, complicated hours and are finding it difficult to juggle different responsibilities. I hope that he will take that into account and try to remedy what would be a great injustice.