Over 2,000 employees in the Western Isles will see a wage rise worth up to £600 thanks to new workers’ rights being introduced by the Labour government said Western Isles MP, Torcuil Crichton.
After voting for the Employment Rights bill in the Commons this week, Mr Crichton called the move was one of the “biggest changes” in rights to work and pay in a generation.
He said: “This is a really important move which will see a rise in the minimum wage and remove all the age bands that set a lower limit for younger staff.”
Under the legislation the Labour government will require the Low Pay Commission to consider the cost of living when setting the minimum wage.
It will also remove all the age bands that set lower minimum wage for younger staff.
Mr Crichton added: “It will mean a pay rise for hundreds of young workers and people who are on or just above the minimum wage.”
The National Minimum Wage for employees aged 21 and over is currently £11.44 whereas the Real Living Wage is calculated at £12 an hour.
According to the House of Commons library some 2,500 employees in the Western Isles, about a quarter of the working population, are paid on or around the minimum rate.
The data includes employees who earn within 5p of the minimum wage. This means that people who earn between £11.50 and £12 are not included in the data.
Mr Crichton said: “More than 2,000 islanders could benefit from a rise in the minimum wage. This is Labour moving to restore security for working people. We promised we would make work pay and we are delivering on that.”
In addition to a rise in the minimum wage workers will qualify for protection against unfair dismissal from day one. Previously, employees must have been at their place of work for at least two years to qualify.
More than one million people on zero-hours contracts will gain guaranteed working
hours if they want them and fire and rehire practices will be banned in all but the
most extreme circumstances, meaning companies cannot sack people and rehire them
on worse terms and conditions.
There will also be day-one rights for paternity leave and unpaid parental leave.
Maternity leave is already a day-one right.
There will be a universal entitlement to sick pay from the first day of illness for employees. Workers will get rights to sick pay from day one, rather than from day four.
The Employment Rights Bill will go from the Commons to the Lords with much of the legislation due to come into force in 2026.
Lowest paid islanders poised for wage rise up to £600 under government changes says MP
22 October 2024
