The government has said it will ban so-called “exclusivity” clauses in zero hours contracts – the clauses that tie a worker to a company even if there is no work available and are rightly regarded as a modern form of serfdom. It will now consult on what measures are required to prevent companies finding ways to circumvent this ban. In other words it will highlight how to get round the legislation for employers who are looking for loopholes.
The government doesn’t want statutory codes to prevent abuses but industry advisory codes of practice. Workers and employers will meet to define sector specific codes. That means that if these sectors are not unionised, or poorly unionised, then codes will be almost non-existent.