“THE devil is in the detail” when it comes to the Employment Rights Bill and the government must resist pressure to water down rights to guaranteed hours, Usdaw general secretary Joanne Thomas told a packed Labour conference fringe meeting on Monday night.

Ms Thomas said Labour should be congratulated on bringing the Bill forward, but pointed out the primary legislation leaves a lot to be decided, including exactly who will benefit from the right to guaranteed hours.

Labour conference backed a motion moved by Ms Thomas calling on the government to “provide all workers who want it with a guaranteed-hours contract that reflects their normal hours worked,” after the retail union leader warned it might be restricted to workers on low hours.

If the right only covered some workers, bad employers would only offer overtime to those without the right to see their usual hours guaranteed, she argued.