05/07/2024
LABOUR ELECTION WIN – WHAT THIS MEANS FOR EMPLOYERS
Labour committed in their manifesto to introduce legislation to Parliament to start the process of bringing the following laws detailed below, into effect within 100 days of taking office.
Labour proposes to consult fully with employers, trade unions, experts and stakeholders before secondary legislation is passed. The New Deal document acknowledges that some proposals will take longer to review and implement than others. One would also hope that transitional arrangements would be put in place to allow employers time to prepare for the new employment landscape.
As always, once any changes have been confirmed Mayflower HR will happily support all clients to implement or advise on the new legislation.
1. Unfair Dismissal - (Workers to be given new rights from day one of employment)
Labour have made clear that although the current two-year qualifying period will be removed. Labour has stressed that this does not mean that employers will not be able to dismiss employees for fair reasons, such as conduct, capability, redundancy, reasons required by law or some other substantial reason that justifies dismissal, as long as a fair and transparent process is followed. It has also stressed the use of probationary periods to assess new recruits’ suitability for a role will be permitted.
2. Statutory Sick Pay
Labour is proposing making sick pay a day one right, removing the three-day waiting period and remove the requirement for a worker to earn at least the lower earnings limit (currently £123 per week) to be eligible for sick pay.
3. Strengthened Family Friendly Rights From Day One
Labour is keen to strengthen family-friendly rights. Labour proposes to make all types of family friendly leave, e.g. maternity, paternity, shared parental, adoption, carers, parental and bereavement leave a day one right, and make it unlawful for employers to dismiss a person who has returned from family friendly leave for 6 months after their return except in certain circumstances. Also to clarify and possibly strengthen carers leave rights and bereavement leave rights.
4. Trade Unions
Provide that the written statement of particulars must inform staff of their right to join a trade union and to inform staff of this regularly.
5. Reform of Employment Status
Currently, the UK has three employment statuses; employees, who have full employment rights, self-employed contractors, who have very few rights and workers, who have some but not all rights.
Labour proposes to merge the two employment statuses of employee and worker into one status of worker, with workers having the full array of employment rights, so that there will be only two statuses – worker and self-employed contractor.
Labour also proposes strengthening rights for self-employed contractors, including giving them the right to receive a written contract, action to tackle late payments and extending health and safety and block listing protections to them.
6. The Right to Disconnect
Labour is proposing to introduce a right for all workers to disconnect outside of working hours. This may include,
A right not to have to routinely perform work outside their normal working hours; A right not to be penalised for refusing to attend to work matters outside of normal working hours; A duty to respect another person’s right to disconnect. There will possibly be some scope for employers and workers to work together to agree the boundaries of the arrangement.
7. Bans of Zero Hours Contracts and Fire and Rehire
Banning “exploitative” zero hours contracts. Employers will still be able to use fixed term contracts, but it is likely that they will have to replace any zero hours or casual worker contracts with the more stable contract.
Ending fire and re-hire (the practice of dismissing and then rehiring employees under new, often less favourable, contractual terms), save where a business has no alternative option to remain viable and where a proper process has been followed.
8. Tribunal Claims
Labour proposes to increase the time limit for bringing claims from 3 months to 6 months, giving a longer time limit for employees to act if they wish to pursue a claim.
9. ACAS - Collective Grievances
Labour proposes to introduce the facility for employees to raise collective grievances via ACAS.
10. A Single Enforcement Body
Labour proposes to establish a Single Enforcement Body, with trade union and TUC representation, which will have the power to undertake targeted and proactive enforcement of workers’ rights, including bringing civil proceedings against non-compliant employers
11. Strengthen Redundancy and TUPE Requirements
Amend the threshold for collective redundancy consultation obligations to apply to the number of affected individuals across the business rather than at each separate establishment.
Strengthen the rights and protections for workers subject to TUPE processes.
12. Strengthen Protection for Whistle Blowers
Labour is proposing to strengthen protection for whistle blowers who report sexual harassment in the workplace.
13. Flexible Working
Ensure flexible working is “a genuine default” from day one for all workers except where it is “not reasonably feasible”.
14. Equal Pay & Pay Gap
Strengthening working women’s rights to equal pay and taking action to reduce the gender pay gap. Labour have also committed to introduce the right to equal pay for disabled people and Black, Asian, and other ethnic minority people, and to introduce disability and ethnicity pay gap reporting for large employers.
15. Living Wage
Labour is proposing to increase the National Living Wage to an amount that people can live on and proposes to abolish the age bands so that everyone receive the same living wage regardless of age.
16. Unpaid Internships
Labour proposes to ban unpaid internships unless they are part of education or a training course.
17. Discrimination and Harassment
Strengthening working women’s protections from maternity and menopause discrimination and sexual harassment by imposing a duty on employers to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment: something already due to come into effect in October.
