The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill will ban the use of exclusivity clauses in contracts that do not guarantee any hours. The BIS have commenced a consultation, which closes on 3 November 2014, seeking views on the best way to prevent avoidance of the exclusivity clause ban, including actions that employees can take if they are offered such a contract. Specifically, the Government is seeking views on:

– what the likelihood of employers avoiding a ban on exclusivity clauses might be and how that might be achieved;

– how potential avoidance could be dealt with;

– whether there should be consequences for an employer if they circumvent a ban on exclusivity clauses and, if so, what those consequences should be; and

– whether there are any potentially negative or unintended consequences because of the wording of the legislation.

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