The Employment Rights Bill returned to Parliament yesterday (Monday, October 21) for its second reading, and passed with 386 ayes and 105 noes.

The Bill intends to introduce new protections for insecure workers, including guaranteed hours and reasonable notice or compensation for lost work.

250,000 workers in Yorkshire and the Humber are 'in scope' of the Bill, according to government figures.

The same figures suggest that 10.7 per cent of the total workforce in the region are in scope of the policy - the highest proportion of any region in the UK.

The press office of the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government shared a claim in the run up to the reading that the Bill could save up to £600 in lost income from hidden costs of insecure work, such as childcare arrangements and last-minute transport arrangements.

The £600 figure comes from a Living Wage Foundation report which had suggested: "33 per cent of shift workers face higher costs as a result of cancelled or last minute shift patterns – an ‘insecurity premium.'

"These costs can add to more than £50 a month (£600+ a year), which was the case for almost a fifth (17 per cent) of workers experiencing the premium."

An impact assessment for the Bill has also been published by the government.

As part of the government's Plan to Make Work Pay, the waiting period for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) will be removed, as well as the Lower Earnings Limit for the pay.

The Lower Earnings Limit currently means that a worker must be earning £123 per week, at least, to qualify for SSP.