Schedule 6 - Minor and consequential amendments
Employment
6:45 pm
Mr Alan Johnson (Minister of State (Employment and the Regions), Department of Trade and Industry; Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle, Labour)
The armed forces include many personnel who do not work on the front line or who are involved in the direct support of continuing operations. I am sure that the armed forces already do a lot to help those individuals to have the opportunity to work flexibly like other employees. I imagine that the hon. Gentleman is worried about front-line troops, but a clear reason will be set out in
the regulations as to why any request from them would probably not be granted.
Amendment No. 204 excludes share fishermen from the flexible working provisions. They are a unique category of workers and are routinely exempted from employment rights such as the national minimum wage. Although they are employees, they share the profits of their catch between the crew and agreeing flexible working patterns would not be suitable given the way that they work.
Amendment No. 205 relates to the fact that the provisions require the determination of compensation against an employer to be based on an employee's weekly pay. The amendment establishes that where an employer has been found not to have properly considered a request, the date to be used to determine the employee's weekly pay will be the date on which the employee made his or her formal application to work flexibly.
Amendment No. 206 ensures that when calculating compensation for failing to consider an application properly, an employee's weekly pay may not exceed the specified amount. That is provided for by the Employment Rights Act 1996 and is currently £250. Amendment No. 207 states that regulations made under new section 80G will be affirmative. The new section covers the employer's duties under the flexible working provision, including the process that they must follow.
The effect of amendment No. 208 is to amend the long title so that it is clear that the Bill contains provisions about flexible working. Hon. Members will have points to raise and amendments to move on this important new clause, so I will stop now and comment further after they have spoken.
Debate adjourned.—[Mr. Pearson.]
Adjourned accordingly at Seven o'clock till Thursday 24 January at half-past Nine o'clock.