Remote working ‘should be legal right’

THE right to flexible and remote working should be enshrined in law, Labour has said, as it was feared a “two-tier world of work” would become further entrenched after the pandemic.

Labour claims that analysis of data from the Office for National Statistics shows that while chief executives and those living in London are most likely to be able to work from home, young people, keyworkers and those who live in the north of England are losing out.

The party said the Government had promised to protect workers’ rights in the Employment Bill in 2019, but that this had failed to materialise.

Just 4.1 per cent of 20-24-year-olds and 6.5% of 25-29-year-olds mainly work from home, compared to 8.3% of those aged over 35, 9.4% of those over 40, and 9.6% of those over 45.

And the party said 21.4% of chief executives mainly worked from home, with 69% able to do so during the pandemic.

Labour’s shadow employment rights and protections secretary, Andy Mcdonald, said: “The pandemic has lifted the lid on our country’s two-tier world of work. This risks becoming more entrenched without employment law fit for the 21st century.”

He added: “We desperately need legislation that keeps pace with our changing world of work, with stronger rights for people to work flexibly. The Conservatives promised it – they’ve got to deliver.”

Shadow education secretary Kate Green is expected to highlight a rise in vacancies in key industries – where employees are less likely to be able to take advantage of home working – in a speech at the World Skills Conference in Dudley today. She will say that there were 133,000 vacancies in health and social care between February and April.