The charity Young Women’s Trust welcomes the introduction of the government’s Employment Rights Bill to grant new rights to workers across the country.
Young women are more likely than many other workers to be in low paid, insecure work and to experience unfair treatment in the workplace. So the proposed policies in the Bill have the potential to transform the working lives of many thousands of young women.
These include:
- The banning of exploitative zero hours contracts. In our annual survey 42% of young women have been offered a zero hours contract, compared to 33% of young men.
- Stronger enforcement of worker’s rights and protections against discrimination. Half of young women are facing discrimination in the workplace.
- Flexible working to become the default. Currently, workers must wait till they start a job to request flexibility. Many young women need flexibility to accommodate caring responsibilities, disabilities or other health conditions, but 40% would feel uncomfortable asking for flexible working if it wasn’t advertised on the job description. Flexible working by default will unlock work opportunities for many more young women.
- The requirement for large companies to produce action plans showing how they will close their gender pay gaps. Despite it being illegal, almost a quarter (23%) of young women have been paid less than young men for the same work.
- Strengthening rights for pregnant workers and new mothers.
The Bill will also introduce a new single body to enforce worker’s rights, simplifying and strengthening the current system. Young women are less likely than men to know how to report and challenge discrimination and to know their rights at work, so Young Women’s Trust is calling for young women to be included in the design of the agency to make sure it’s genuinely accessible to them.
As the consultation is launched, it is vital that government listens to young women and ensure that their voices are heard and represented when the bill comes into effect.
Claire Reindorp, Chief Executive of Young Women’s Trust, said: “The Employment Rights Bill could be a game changer for young women who are more likely to be in low paid and insecure work than their male peers.
“If implemented in full, these proposals will transform the lives of young women in offices and on shop floors across the country, tackling the toxic mix of sexism and poor employment practices that are holding them back. During this consultation we urge the government to listen to the voices of young women to make sure that this announcement is truly as transformative for them as it promises to be.”
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