Member

The Government may argue that they did not proceed with a broader right to switch off for workers because it would have conflicted with the right to reasonable notice from employers. But that very reasoning exposes why this amendment is necessary. If the switch-off had been applied to employer/employee relations, it would have conflicted with the right to reasonable notice in Part 1 of the Bill. There is no emergency that demands that a union rep should chase members after hours. It is a question of political pressure, not practical necessity. The distinction matters because unions are not employers: they are not paying wages, they are not assigning shifts or running the business. They are voluntary organisations, or at least they should be, and “voluntary” means members must be free to choose how and when they engage and must not be pestered at home, pressured improperly into supporting or joining campaigns or bombarded with demands for their time.