Draft Regulations Published to Extend Ban on Exclusivity Clauses
Exclusivity clauses are used to prohibit workers from taking on additional work from other employers. These types of clauses were banned in zero-hours workers' contracts back in 2015.
We previously reported that the Government intends to extend the ban on exclusivity clauses to contracts where a worker's weekly income is on or below the Lower Earnings Limit (currently £123 a week). Draft regulations have now been laid before Parliament.
The new regulations will render unenforceable any contractual term which bans an individual working for anyone else, or which requires the employer to give consent before an individual can work elsewhere. The intention is to give workers more flexibility over when and where they work, helping the lowest paid workers generate more income.
The regulations will also protect workers from detriment, and employees from unfair dismissal, if they breach an exclusivity clause in their contract. There will be no qualifying period for the new unfair dismissal right. If the tribunal finds a worker has been unfairly dismissed or subjected to detrimental treatment for breaching an exclusivity clause, it will be able to make a declaration and order the employer to pay compensation to the worker.
The draft regulations will come into force 28 days after the day they are made. They will apply to England, Scotland and Wales.
