Employment protections ease worker anxiety but barely impacts economic growth – Resolution Foundation

The Employment Rights Bill going through Parliament will be important for low-paid workers but won’t change much for economic growth, research from the Resolution Foundation found.

Low pay has dropped in Britain, with only 3.5% of workers now low paid, down from a fifth in past decades thanks to the minimum wage. 

However, the number of workers on zero-hours contracts has gone up, now at 3.4%, about 1.1 million people. 

The research found 2.4 million workers across Britain were very anxious about sudden changes in their shifts.

The bill aims to fix these problems, but arguments about its impact on the economy have been exaggerated. 

The Government’s highest estimate of a £5bn cost to businesses would mean only 11,000 job losses, cutting the employment rate by just 0.02%. 

The Resolution Foundation said this is small, given millions will get new protections at work.

Additionally, the government wants to give workers a right to guaranteed hours based on what they usually work, plus compensation if shifts are cancelled at short notice.