Govt says it won’t lower employment rights in Brexit wake
The government has rejected a report that it plans to tear up EU employment protections, which include the 48-hour working week.
The deregulation is being put together by the business department with Downing Street’s blessing, the Financial Times reported, but has not yet been agreed by ministers.
The main areas of focus were reportedly on ending the 48-hour working week, tweaking the rules around rest breaks at work and not including overtime pay when calculating some holiday pay entitlements.
But late last night new business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng tweeted: “We are not going to lower the standards of workers rights.”
In response to the Financial Times article, Labour business secretary Ed Miliband said the proposals were about “ripping up vital rights for workers.”