Companies that engage quickly with their unions and workforces will be best placed to reap the benefits of new employment rules, says UNISON today (Tuesday).

The union has written to the UK’s largest outsourcing firms, including Serco, Sodexo, ISS and Mitie, inviting them for talks to discuss how best to implement Labour’s Employment Rights Bill, currently going through parliament.

The government’s package will include a fair pay agreement for social care, an end to exploitative zero-hours contracts and controversial fire and rehire practices, as well as improved union access in workplaces, says UNISON.

The union says the long overdue reforms are popular and will make a real difference to the lives of millions of people. Good employers, and those who lead them, have nothing to fear from the changes, adds the union.

The letter, from the union’s general secretary Christina McAnea, says working together brings tangible benefits for companies and their employees.

She lists improved staff retention, better training opportunities for workers and enhanced reputation for organisations as some of the advantages.

UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: “The Employment Rights Bill is the most significant piece of employment legislation in a generation and will make a real difference to the lives of millions of people.

“The reforms are popular, long overdue and exactly what this country needs. Anyone calling for the changes to be put on hold is not on the side of working people.

“Good companies, and their leaders, have absolutely nothing to fear from new rules. This legislation will help organisations become better employers.

“Firms engaging positively with their staff and trade unions will be best placed to win future public contracts and be seen as employers that people want to work for.”

Notes to editors:
– The Employment Rights Bill is one of the topics being discussed at the 157th annual Trades Union Congress in Brighton.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

Media contacts:
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk
Dan Ashley M: 07508 080349 E: d.ashley@unison.co.uk

Commenting on the budget delivered today (Wednesday) by the chancellor, UNISON assistant general secretary Jon Richards said:

“Rachel Reeves has hit the reset button, erasing the Tory shambles and misery of the past.

“This authoritative budget turns the page on the horrible history of the past 14 years. The Conservatives’ toxic combination of austerity, unfunded spending and fake promises to lower taxes left the country in a dreadful state.

“The chancellor’s vision shows economic stability can be restored by investing in the NHS, schools, care and local councils.

“Good quality, well-funded and sufficiently staffed services are essential for a healthy, highly skilled and well-supported population.

“The last government hid the true state of the country’s finances, leaving public services in tatters. No one should have to put up with long delays for treatment, dilapidated schools, roads full of holes, community facilities sold off to prevent councils from going under or a lack of support when their elderly relatives need care.

“By putting up the minimum wage and ending the freeze on tax thresholds, the government has shown it understands the pressures working families face.

“Asking those with deeper pockets to pay more is the right thing to do. Decent public services can’t be delivered on the cheap. It’s important to spend to invest in the UK’s future.”

Notes to editors:
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service, and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary, and private sectors.

Media contacts: 
Liz Chinchen M: 07778 158175 E: press@unison.co.uk
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk

Last month, The RAC Foundation, a transport policy and research organisation, announced that frontline workers who use their car for work are out of pocket by an average of £6,000 a year due to out-of-date mileage rates.

Since then, the union has heard from numerous members about their experiences.

Roger Lewis said: “It’s an outrageous scandal that the higher the mileage workers have to travel in their cars, the more out of pocket we are. It’s a financial disincentive or penalty for doing our work. We should be paid properly.”

Community care worker Debbie Pink said: “We have not had an increase in our mileage costs for twelve years, yet the fuel prices have vastly been inflated. It’s costing me more and more to travel and use my car, not to mention the cost of repairs to my vehicle due to the road surfaces.”

Using UNISON data, The RAC Foundation has calculated that approved mileage allowance payments (AMAPs) should be 63.4p per mile, a significant increase on the existing HMRC rate of 45p, which has not been updated since 2011.

One UNISON member, who works night shifts, said: “I do on average 80 miles per night. Last year I went over 9000 miles and only got 14p per mile there after. I’ve just paid over £300 for four new tyres. It used to be beneficial for me to use my car but it certainly isn’t now.”

One UNISON member who works as a teaching assistant and drives a battery electric vehicle (BEV) said: “I do not have to claim mileage for work very often, but when I do, my county council is so backward in its approach to electric vehicles that it still does not have an option for the school’s business manager to claim for my BEV mileage, despite the huge increases in energy costs.

“This also extends to the public provision of charging points which has been dire throughout our car ownership.”

Ask your MP to take action on mileage rates here.