Labour Party proposes extensive reform of employment law
7 March 2024
In their paper A New Deal for Working People, which was produced in 2022 and published on 1 January 2024, the Labour Party sets out a portfolio of policy proposals which, if implemented, would have a profound impact on UK employment law.
The next UK general election will take place no later than January 2025 but more likely sometime in late 2024. The Labour Party currently has a substantial lead in the polls.
The published proposals do not yet have the status of manifesto commitments, but broadly they represent an ambitious statement of legislative intent which has been expanded upon in recent speeches and announcements, including at the Labour Party and TUC conferences, which both took place in the autumn of 2023.
Some of the most significant proposed changes are:
Combining the existing categories of ‘worker’ and ‘employee’, thus effectively giving all workers the full range of employment rights, including (among many others):
The right not to be unfairly dismissed
Maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental pay and leave
Statutory sick pay
Statutory notice and redundancy rights
Paid time off to attend antenatal appointments
Protection of employment on the transfer of a business to new owners
Applying unfair dismissal rights from day one of employment, removing the current 2-year qualifying period
Introducing mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting for businesses employing more than 250 staff (mirroring gender pay gap reporting)
Extending time limits on bringing Employment Tribunal claims from 3 months to 6 months
Removing all caps on compensation in the Employment Tribunal
Tracking the minimum wage to the cost of living
Outlawing zero-hours contracts
Outlawing ‘fire and rehire’ tactics
Introducing a day-one right to flexible working
Introducing a statutory right not to be contacted by the employer outside working hours
Extending maternity and paternity leave
Introducing sector-wide collective agreements on pay and conditions, starting with the adult social care sector
Outlawing dismissing any woman within 6 months of return from pregnancy/maternity-related leave
Introducing a right to bereavement leave
Introducing personal liability for company directors for unlawful acts of the company or failure to comply with court orders
Repealing the Trade Union Act 2016 (which, broadly speaking, raised the thresholds unions had to pass to take lawful industrial action)
Strengthening trade unions’ rights, including lowering recognition thresholds and increasing rights of entry into workplaces – there is a particular aim to encourage unionization in the gig economy
Creating a single enforcement body to protect workers’ rights, with the power to inspect workplaces and bring civil and criminal proceedings against employers for breaches of health and safety law, worker exploitation, discrimination, or breaches of minimum wage legislation
Reviewing health and safety law to include provisions for stress, mental health, the impact of new technology, and the impact of emerging health and lifestyle issues
Requiring employers to provide workplaces free from harassment by colleagues or third parties
Introducing paid family and carers’ leave to allow workers to respond to family emergencies
Allowing equal pay claims to proceed on the basis of comparable work at different employers
These proposals have provoked animated debate – if not controversy – drawing public comment from the leadership of a number of stakeholder groups, including, among others, the CBI, the Institute of Directors, the Institute of Employment Rights, the British Chambers of Commerce, the TUC, and the CIPD.
Predictably, a range of opinions have been offered, with business groups tending to urge that these proposals are moderated, while unions and workers’ rights organisations have been more positive. The main point of unanimous agreement is that the changes would be dramatic. Employers may wish to begin considering how they would respond and adapt.
Generally, the details of how these proposals would be implemented are not yet known, but Angela Rayner has stated in two high-profile speeches that a Labour Government would introduce an Employment Rights Bill containing many of the most important changes within 100 days of taking office.
How we can help
For further information on the possible implications of any of Labour’s proposals, please contact the team at Synchrony Law.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Please note that the law may have changed since this article was published.
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