Why the UK’s new workers rights laws could be bad news for Gen Z
The UK government has been warned that its new workers rights bill could lead to fewer opportunities for younger people in the country.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC), which represents more than 200 retailers across the UK and acts as the industry’s leading trade association, has issued a warning that Labour’s incoming workers rights could imperil flexible or part-time roles available to Gen Z workers.
It cited its own recently published research, which found that 70% of Gen Z workers said flexibility at work is important to them, and said that flexible retail roles, such as those with no minimum hours, were actively sought out by young people and not a loophole or poor practice.
These roles are valuable to younger workers who are balancing work against studying or other commitments, the BRC said, and noted that legislation designed to give workers more stability and improve protections around minimum remuneration or work hours could lead to these opportunities becoming less available.
Around 780,000 retail jobs are held by 16-25-year-olds, accounting for 28% of the industry’s total workforce.
This makes retail the UK’s largest gateway into work for young people, and the BRC argued that considering the 16.1% unemployment rate among 16-24-year-olds, this gateway matters more than ever.
It said that while it supported the aim of the Employment Rights Act to improve job security and living standards, provisions such as guaranteed hours risked adding new costs and administrative complexity.
Unintended consequences
A BRC survey of leading retail Chief Finance Officers found that 52% plan to cut hours or overtime due to cost pressures, while 32% expect to halt hiring.
This data suggests that provisions around guaranteed hours and limits on flexible scheduling could make short-hour, seasonal, or variable roles less viable, particularly in a sector with peaks like holidays and sales periods.
With the Act already having received Royal Assent and now being implemented, the BRC has said the government should not undermine the availability of flexible roles through the imposition of guaranteed hour requirements on retailers.
It said that hours offered to flexible staff during seasonal peaks cannot be offered throughout the year, and implored the government to take a ‘realistic approach’ to implementation.
The government has positioned flexible working as closer to a ‘default’ where practical, requiring employers to justify refusals more rigorously. Yet critics, including the BRC, fear the cumulative effect could shrink the very entry points that Gen Z values most.
With overall unemployment projected to hit as high as 5.3% this year, narrowing opportunities for the youngest cohort could exacerbate an already challenging landscape.
“Local, flexible jobs are important first steps into work for young people across the country,” said BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson.
“Retailers want the Employment Rights Act to live up to its ambition and raise standards and improve job security.”
“But at a time when youth unemployment is high and rising, Government must ensure reforms double down on tackling bad practices and don’t choke off the routes into a first job for the next generation,” she said.
