Amazon Worker’s Rights

My Liberal Democrat parliamentary colleagues and I strongly support workers’ rights and have consistently advocated measures promoting the health and well-being of employees.

We have also put forward proposals to modernise and strengthen employment rights, to empower more people to enter the job market and for workers, small businesses and our economy to thrive. This includes measures promoting family-friendly working, by expanding access to affordable childcare and flexible working. Although this of course isn’t specific to just Amazon workers, the measures we would implement will benefit all sectors and improve the working conditions and rights of employees across the UK.

Our recent General Election manifesto pledged to fix the broken Statutory Sick Pay system, by making it available to the more than one million workers earning less than £123 a week – most of whom are women; aligning the rate above the National Minimum Wage; and making payments available from the first day of missing work rather than the fourth. We also called for financial support to be made available to small employers, to assist with sick pay costs.

We recognise the importance of updating employment rights to fit with the age of the gig economy. A new ‘dependent contractor’ employment status should be established in between employment and self-employment, with entitlements to basic rights such as minimum earnings levels, sick pay and holiday entitlement. We called for a 20% higher minimum wage for those on zero-hours contracts, to compensate them for the uncertainty of fluctuating hours of work. And for ‘zero hours’ and agency workers to have a right to request a fixed-hours contract after 12 months, not to be unreasonably refused.

The Liberal Democrats welcomed the measures in the Employment Rights Bill, but crucial details are subject to ongoing consultations and amendments, leaving workers and small businesses without the clarity they deserve. So, we have been urging the Government to improve the Bill and clarify these details, to give both employees and SMEs the certainty they need.

We are urging the Government to address missed opportunities within the legislation, where they could have provided additional support for families, carers and whistleblowers. For example, we have highlighted the lack of any concrete provisions relating to carer’s leave.

In short, my Liberal Democrat parliamentary colleagues and I understand the need for employment protections and are actively championing measures to drastically improve people’s working lives.