The Employment Rights Bill in the UK, which is currently being considered in the House of Lords, includes provisions to extend certain employment rights to the estates of deceased workers, particularly in cases related to zero-hours contracts. This means that even after a worker’s death, their family or estate could potentially claim compensation if the employer breached the new rules regarding zero-hours contracts.
The Bill aims to ban exploitative zero-hours contracts by introducing a right to guaranteed hours for qualifying workers. After a defined period, employers will be required to offer these workers a guaranteed number of hours based on their average work.
If an employer fails to offer these guaranteed hours or violates other related provisions, a worker’s estate or representative (like a close family member) can bring a claim against the employer.
Compensation would be awarded based on the financial loss suffered by the deceased worker or their estate, similar to how other employment tribunal claims are handled.
This provision extends the principle that employment tribunal claims can be brought after a worker’s death, which already applies in cases of unfair dismissal, redundancy, or other individual rights.
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