Implementing the Taylor Review of modern working practices

The Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices was published in July 2017.

It concluded that the labour market was changing, that new forms of work were raising questions about the existing legislation and that there was a need to “organise our national framework around an explicit commitment to good work for all.” The Review broadly centred around three themes:

1. tackling exploitative employment practices;
2. increasing clarity in the law and helping people enforce their rights; and
3. aligning the incentives driving labour market change with broader national objectives.

It contained a wide range of recommendations on issues such as agency workers, employment status, the enforcement of employment rights, maternity discrimination and zero-hours contracts.

In February 2018, the Government published its response to the Review, and also launched four consultations:

1. Agency workers
2. Employment status
3. Enforcement of employment rights
4. Increasing transparency in the labour market

In December 2018, the Government published the Good Work Plan, which set out how it intended to implement the recommendations made in the Taylor Review. It also responded to the feedback received from the above consultations. The Government labelled its proposals “the largest upgrade in a generation to workers rights”.

In the December 2019 Queen’s Speech, the Government committed to introducing an Employment Bill. The proposed Bill was broad in scope and would cover several proposals made in the Good Work Plan as well as addressing many of the issues that were consulted on in the July 2019 consultations. The Queen’s Speech did not list employment status as one of the matters the Bill would cover, despite this being one of the central focuses of the Taylor Review.

It is still unclear when the Employment Bill will be published. In December 2021, the Government said the Bill will be brought forward “when Parliamentary time allows it”.

Taylor Review recommendations

The Taylor Review made a wide range of recommendations centred around seven key principles:

1. The commitment to increase the quantity of work should be complemented by a commitment to creating better jobs;
2. The Government’s ambition should be that all work is fair and decent with scope for fulfilment and development;
3. While there will always be people in work who struggle to meet needs, it should be ensured that such people have dignity in work and a realistic prospect of progressing;
4. Insecure and exploitative work is bad for health and wellbeing and generates a cost for society;
5. Improving the quality of work is important to improving productivity;
6. Technological changes should be seized to make working life better; and
7. For citizens to be engaged, responsible and active those virtues must be present in the workplace.

A full list of the recommendations made in the Taylor Review are provided in the Library briefing paper, Insecure work: the Taylor Review and the Good Work Plan (February 2020). This also outlines the steps the Government has taken to respond to each recommendation up the date of publication of this paper. Practical Law have also published a document on the Taylor Review which provides information on the further steps the Government has taken since this date.