He announced this morning that the Government has no plans to swamp employers with legislation following last week's agency deal between business and unions, when it was agreed agency workers should have equal treatment after 12 weeks of service.
<p> "Many people may hope - and equally many will fear - that this agreement is the start of a new wave of employment regulation from Government. It is not," said Hutton. "We have reached the end of the era of considering major new regulation as the best way to improve standards."
<p>Rather than passing new laws to deal with workplace exploitation, he said stronger enforcement is needed to close any existing legal loopholes that allow rogue employers to shirk their responsibilities.
"This is the principle behind the new Employment Bill now before Parliament, to target more effectively employers who flout the law and underpay staff," said Hutton, adding that he wanted to encourage better engagement between employees and businesses.
"We must re-examine the role of Government in the workplace," he said.
