By Andrew Ranger

MP for Wrexham

Last week, I was delighted to see the Employment Rights Bill pass its second reading in Parliament.

The new laws are the biggest upgrade in employee rights in decades.

The bill will mean that employees have rights such as sick pay, flexible working requests and protection from unfair dismissal from day one of employment rather than have to wait to qualify.

The bill also bans exploitive zero-hour contracts, with employers being required to offer workers a guaranteed-hours contract based on the hours worked over a 12-week period.

Workers can still opt to keep a zero-hour contract if they wish to, the difference being that they are entitled to a guaranteed-hours contract.

Workers on zero-hours contract will also be entitled to compensation if a shift is cancelled or cut short.

One of the biggest parts of the bill is the banning of fire and rehire.

This will stop the unethical practice of employers dismissing their workers and hiring them back on worse terms and conditions. We have seen this in recent years with P&O most notably and currently here in Wrexham, with workers at Oscar Mayer in dispute over the practice.

I reiterate my call to Oscar Mayer to sit down with their workers and come to a solution that is fair and equitable to all parties.

Halloween is this week and I hope that everyone enjoys it safely. In Wrexham, there are a lot of events over the half term holidays for families to enjoy, from Halloween Crafts at Brynteg Library, Halloween Fun Day at Alyn Waters, Spooky Snacks at the Wellbeing Hub to The Big Wrexham Halloween Spookfast run by Wrexham Street Market. For the adults, there is the always popular Wretched Wrexham Walking Tour that runs into November. More activities can be found here

My constituency team have now all started work and are busy speaking to residents and assisting with issues. If you require any help or if you wish to raise any concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at Andrew.ranger.mp@parliament.uk.