HC Deb 28 January 1971 vol 810 c787
5. Mr. Carter

asked the Secretary of State for Employment why information as to the number of employees employed by employers who employ a total of four persons or less is not available.

Mr. Dudley Smith

This figure would be excessively expensive and time-Consuming to extract. It is known that the number is less than three million but may be nearer to one million.

Mr. Carter

That is a staggering reply, particularly since this group of workers is specifically excluded under the unfair dismissal part of the Industrial Relations Bill. Will the Minister bear in mind that some of those workers, particularly agricultural workers, work in extremely precarious industries which are not known for having the best employers in the economy?

Mr. Smith

Perhaps these matters can still be considered during the discussions on the Bill. There is an admirable precedent for what we are doing. The right hon. Lady proposed exactly the same thing in her Industrial Relations Bill.