Employment Bill
4:30 pm
Mr Alan Johnson (Minister of State (Employment and the Regions), Department of Trade and Industry; Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle, Labour)
When we adjourned, I was concluding my remarks on the amendments. I had explained that they were misguided because they would include in the Bill matters best left to regulation, and I was dealing with the issue of employees and employers having the right to modify statutory rights. I said that it would be wrong to imply in legislation that discussions in the workplace could lead to employees somehow signing away their statutory rights. I do not say that that would be a common occurrence, but it could happen, and we need to guard against it. The amendment is therefore misconceived, and I invite the hon. Gentleman to withdraw it.