Employment Practices Bill (HL Bill 14)
A
BILL
TO
Make provision to ensure that the terms and conditions of employment
offered by employers do not put workers who are permanently domiciled in
the United Kingdom at a disadvantage through offering any bonus or
payment in kind; and for connected purposes.
Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and
consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present
Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
1 Employee accommodation
(1)
An employer who offers an employee residential accommodation as part of his
or her employment conditions shall also offer that employee the alternative of
receiving additional payment adequate to pay for bed and breakfast
5accommodation in that area on a prescribed scale for the region in which the
employment is based.
(2)
The Secretary of State shall be responsible for publishing and annually
updating the prescribed scale under subsection (1).
(3) The additional payment specified in subsection (1)—
(a)
10shall be made to all workers, whether or not they are regarded as non-
domiciled workers; and
(b)
shall not be taken into consideration in assessing whether the basic pay
is at or above the national minimum wage.
(4)
The residential accommodation referred to in subsection (1) shall not include
15accommodation which is deemed to be a necessary requirement of the
employment which is to be fulfilled.
2 Secretary of State powers
(1)
The Secretary of State shall by order, introduce a scale of fines and punishment
to be applied to employers who fail to abide by the provisions of this Act; and
20to employees who provide incorrect or inaccurate information in regard to
section 1.
Employment Practices BillPage 2
(2)
The Secretary of State may, by order, introduce other legislative provision
aimed at securing the objectives of this Act.
(3)
Any order introduced under subsection (2) shall only be presented to
Parliament after consultation with interested parties which shall include the
5Trade Union Congress, the Confederation of British Industry, the Federation of
Small Businesses and the Equalities Commission.
(4)
Any order introduced by this section shall be subject to the affirmative order
procedure in both Houses of Parliament and by the National Assembly for
Wales and by the Scottish Parliament in regard to its implementation in those
10two countries.
(5)
The Secretary of State shall report to Parliament on an annual basis on the
workings of this Act.
3 Devolved powers
The provisions of this Act may be amended or annulled by the National
15Assembly for Wales in regard to its enforcement or implementation in Wales;
or by the Scottish Parliament with regard to its enforcement or implementation
in Scotland; and for those purposes, the powers of the Secretary of State shall
be exercised by a Welsh Minister or a Scottish Minister respectively.
4 Extent, commencement and short title
(1)
20This Act shall apply to Great Britain and may be extended to Northern Ireland
by Order, subject to the approval of both Houses of Parliament and by the
Northern Ireland Assembly.
(2) This section shall come into force on the day on which this Act is passed.
(3)
The other provisions of this Act shall come into force three months after it is
25passed.
(4) This Act may be cited as the Employment Practices Act 2014.