Great Britain: plans in place to widen the ban on exclusivity clauses to include low-paid employment contracts  

On 09 May the UK government unveiled plans to widen a ban on exclusivity clauses, which prevent workers from working for multiple employers, to employment contracts where the weekly income is less than or equal to the Lower Earnings Limit of £123 per week (€114). In 2015, the then Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron banned exclusivity clauses from zero-hour contracts, which guarantee neither working hours nor minimum salary (c.f. article No. 8982). “By extending the ban on exclusivity clauses, we are putting more control into the hands of the lowest paid, giving them the freedom to decide who they work for and how often, including the option to top up their pay packet if they wish,” said Paul Scully, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Small Business, Consumers and Labour Markets. According to the government’s calculations, 1.5 million workers in the UK will benefit from this reform, which should in particular be relevant for gig workers, younger cohorts and those from disadvantaged backgrounds who struggle to enter the world of work. Banning exclusivity clauses in low-paid contracts should also make it easier for employers to hire in certain sectors that are short of staff, as well as allowing them to find new talent, whereas until now, some people could not be found because they were not allowed to secure employment contracts across several companies.