Speech in Commons Chamber - Fri 16 Mar 2018
Unpaid Trial Work Periods (Prohibition) Bill
"The worst part of that story was that my constituent was rota-ed to be in that work the following week, which gave him the impression that he had in fact secured the job. He was told, on the last day possible, that he had not applied enough effort, which was …..."Neil Gray - View Speech
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Fri 16 Mar 2018
Unpaid Trial Work Periods (Prohibition) Bill
"She was suggesting you could sit down...."Neil Gray - View Speech
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Fri 16 Mar 2018
Unpaid Trial Work Periods (Prohibition) Bill
"I am pretty sure that Members who are employers will have it written into their contracts that all staff start with a probationary period. Is that not a more appropriate way to handle this matter?..."Neil Gray - View Speech
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Speech in Westminster Hall - Tue 19 Dec 2017
Sector Deal for Steel
"It is a pleasure to speak on behalf of the Scottish National party in this debate. It is also a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Sir Henry, and to follow the hon. Member for West Bromwich West (Mr Bailey), who made a very good speech.
I congratulate the …..."Neil Gray - View Speech
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Written Question
Monday 16th October 2017
Asked by:
Neil Gray (Scottish National Party - Airdrie and Shotts)
Question
to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what definition his Department uses of (a) flexible worker and (b) flexible working.
Answered by Margot James
The GOV.UK website describes different ways of working flexibly. This includes: job sharing; working from home; part time; compressed hours; flexitime; annualised hours; staggered hours; and phased retirement.
Written Question
Tuesday 18th July 2017
Asked by:
Neil Gray (Scottish National Party - Airdrie and Shotts)
Question
to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what safeguards his Department has put in place to protect people employed on flexible contracts from exploitation by their employers.
Answered by Margot James
The availability of atypical employment provides a number of benefits for workers who cannot or do not want to commit to ‘standard’ full-time employment. This results in high participation rates among groups which might otherwise be excluded from work altogether, like mothers returning to work.
The UK’s flexible labour market means those who work in flexible arrangements continue to be entitled to employment protections regardless of the contract type. But we recognise that there are instances where the UK labour market is not working fairly for everyone and is why we asked Matthew Taylor to carry out his independent Review of Working Practices. Our full response later this year will reflect Government’s position and next steps.
Written Question
Tuesday 18th July 2017
Asked by:
Neil Gray (Scottish National Party - Airdrie and Shotts)
Question
to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what safeguards his Department has put in place to protect people employed on zero-hours contracts from exploitation by their employers.
Answered by Margot James
This Government is clear that zero hours contracts should not be considered as an alternative to proper business planning or used as a permanent arrangement if it is not justifiable. They play a small but important part in the labour market, allowing flexibility for both employers and individuals. People on zero-hour contracts make up less than 3 per cent of the workforce and almost 70 per cent are happy with the number of hours they work, according to the latest ONS Labour Force Survey research (March 2015).
In May 2015 Government banned the use of exclusivity clauses in zero hours contracts so that people cannot be prevented from looking for or working elsewhere when their employer does not guarantee work.
Matthew Taylor in his Review of Modern Working Practices has proposed some reforms around zero-hour contracts and Government will consider the whole report carefully and make a full response later this year.
Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 11 Jul 2017
Taylor Review: Working Practices
"This Government continue to justify the existence of zero-hours contracts on the basis of flexibility, but the problems could largely be addressed if flexible working could be properly expanded and given a framework so that we knew exactly what it meant. Will the Government use this opportunity to properly expand …..."Neil Gray - View Speech
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Speech in General Committees - Tue 14 Mar 2017
DRAFT National Minimum Wage (Amendment) REGULATIONS 2017
"It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Alan, and it is a genuine pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Birmingham, Erdington, who made a very good speech setting out our shared views.
We must be clear that the UK Government’s so-called national living wage is not …..."Neil Gray - View Speech
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Speech in General Committees - Tue 14 Mar 2017
DRAFT National Minimum Wage (Amendment) REGULATIONS 2017
"Absolutely. I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention, which highlights perfectly the flaws in the Government’s argument—we will probably hear it shortly—that, somehow, someone who is under 25 does not have the experience or expertise to carry out their job. She personifies the argument that someone who is under …..."Neil Gray - View Speech
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