Peninsula Team, Peninsula Team
(Last updated )
Peninsula Team, Peninsula Team
(Last updated )
The election results are in and Labour is the UK's elected government. Find out what they're promising for employment law...
Under a Labour government, we can now expect to see major HR and Health & Safety changes in the coming months.
To give you the full picture of their big plans to overhaul existing rights and protections, here are Labour's long list of employment law pledges and how they compare to the other highest-polling political parties...
No more qualifying periods for basic employment rights like unfair dismissal, sick pay and parental leave.
No more distinction between “employee” and “worker”. All workers to be given the same basic employment rights around sick pay, holiday pay, unfair dismissal, and more.
To enhance the rights and protections of:
And to reinstate the School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB) in England.
To make it a legal requirement for the self-employed to have a written contract of employment.
To ban unpaid internships unless they are part of someone's education or training course.
To make sick pay (SSP) available to everyone, including workers who aren’t currently eligible, at a rate that represents a "fair earnings replacement". Also, to remove the three day waiting period.
To take steps to close gender, ethnicity and disability pay gap. Make it mandatory for firms with 250 staff or more to publish an ethnicity pay gap report and a disability pay gap report.
To require employers to go even further to prevent sexual harassment and protect staff from harassment at work.
Employers to accommodate flexible working requests from all staff from day one except in cases where it is not "reasonably feasible".
Plan to make parental leave a day one right for employees.
Plan to review the law on carer's leave and examine the benefits of introducing paid leave.
To give anyone who works regular hours for 12 weeks or more the right to a regular contract. All workers to get reasonable notice if their shift or work pattern changes. Plus, compensation for cancelled shifts and loss of work.
To improve the information and consultation procedures around fire and rehire practices. To also adapt unfair dismissal and redundancy law to prevent workers from being dismissed after not agreeing to imposed terms.
To strengthen the planned law around staff tips to give workers the power to decide how to allocate tips.
To do more to support the long term physical and mental health of workers. To assess whether existing regulations and guidance can adequately support and protect those experiencing symptoms of long Covid.
Plan to introduce a new right to disconnect. Protection for staff against the expectations of having to respond to work communications outside of working hours.
To strengthen trade union right of entry to workplaces, simplify the process of union recognition, and make it an employer’s duty to tell their worker about their right to join a union.
To make it a requirement for employers to include a clause in their employee's statement of main terms, outlining their right to join a union.
To extend the time limit for raising a employment tribunal claim from three to six months and to establish a single enforcement body for enforcing worker rights.
To encourage employers to sign up to the "Dying to Work" charter to support workers who have terminal illnesses.
To make it a legal requirement for businesses who employ more than 250 staff to have a written action plan outlining how they manage employees who are going through menopause.
To work with workers, trade unions, employers and experts to examine what AI and new technologies mean for work, jobs and skills.
To give workers the right to make a collective grievance to Acas if they feel an issue in the workplace is affecting a group of individuals.
Labour would work with employers, trade unions and other stakeholders to support the wellbeing of workers and their long-term physical and mental health.
Labour would recruit an extra 8.500 new mental health workers to treat both children and adults, with a focus on depression, anxiety and phobias.
Labour would create 'New Young Futures' hubs to provide open access to mental health services for children and young people in every community.
Labour would bring in 'Martyn's Law' to strengthen the security of public events and venues.
Labour would tackle the Access to Work backlog, reform or replace the Work Capability Assessment. They would also support people with disabilities to work by improving their employment support and access to reasonable adjustments.
Labour would modernise health & safety guidance to make reference to extreme temperatures and preventative steps to keep staff safe at work.
Labour would improve resilience and preparation across the central government, local authorities, local communities and emergency services. This would include formally working with all stakeholders in the Fire and Rescue services to inform policy and establish national standards.
Labour would put failing water companies under special measures to clean up our water. This would involve giving regulators (Ofwat) new powers the block the payment of bonuses to executives who pollute waterways.
Labour would bring criminal charges against persistent law breakers and impose automatic and severe fines for wrongdoing. They would also ensure independent monitoring of every outlet.
Labour would work with farmers and scientists on creating measures to eradicate Bovine TB, including investing in the production of workable vaccines.
By the end of the next parliament, the Conservatives would raise the National Living Wage to around £13 per hour, and reduce national insurance.
The Conservatives would make laws to clarify that the protected characteristic of 'sex' means biological sex only.
The Conservatives would bring back the stricter trade union laws that were removed in Wales.
The Conservatives would introduce a legal cap on migration, which would reduce each year. They would also increase visa fees and require migrants to have health checks.
The Conservatives would create 100,000 more apprenticeships in England each year by the end of the next parliament.
Rishi Sunak said that a future Conservative government would take the "bold action of removing under-performing university degrees" and using that money to fund "high-quality apprenticeships." This is in a bid to offer young people "the employment opportunities and financial security they need."
The Conservatives would introduce a national service scheme for all 18-year-olds should they win the election.
This would give young people a choice of two options once they turn 18. They either spend a 25 days each year taking part in a a military training scheme, or they spend one weekend a month over a 12 month period volunteering in their community. The latter would involve working alongside organisations like the NHS and fire service.
The Conservatives would introduce 'Martyn's Law' to prepare venues against terrorist attacks.
The Conservatives would pass a new law to provide better treatment and support for severe mental health needs in the first session of the next Parliament.
The Conservatives would address the fit note process so that people are not signed off sick by default. This would involve introducing a triage process for employees who are seeking a fit note, and directing them down an appropriate pathway.
The Conservatives would bring in a new licensing scheme and age limits for non-surgical cosmetic procedures.
The Conservatives would toughen sentences for knife crime, grooming gangs and assaults against retail workers.
The Conservatives would keep removing EU laws from the statute book as per 2023's review of EU legislation (REUL), including health & safety regulations like the Health & Safety Management Regulations, Work at Height regulations and PPE regulations.
The Conservatives would reverse ULEZ expansion and apply local referendums to new 20mph zones and low traffic neighbourhoods.
The Conservatives would work with water regular Ofwat to further hold water companies to account, including banning executive bonuses if a company has committed a serious criminal breach.
The Liberal Democrats would establish a new 'dependant contractor' employment status. This would be a hybrid status between the employed and self-employed, and provide this type of worker with rights including minimum earnings, sick pay, and holiday entitlement.
The Liberal Democrats have said they want to bring in a carer’s minimum wage, which would allow care workers to earn at least £2 an hour more than the current minimum wage. The intention is to help encourage more people to take jobs in social care and to tackle staff shortages in the sector.
If this were to go ahead, existing employers of care workers would need to boost wages to meet the new legal minimum wage. And they could also be managing a boost in recruitment.
The Liberal Democrats would remove the lower apprentice rate and pay apprentices in line with other workers. They would also increase the National Minimum Wage for people on a zero-hour contract.
The Liberal Democrats would remove the lower earnings limit - making more people eligible to claim SSP - and align the sick pay rate with National Minimum Wage.
They would also remove the requirement to wait for four days before being able to claim statutory sick pay, making it instantly available should workers need it.
The Liberal Democrats would give all workers the right to work flexibly, and give workers with a disability the automatic right to work from home unless there are significant reasons the business can't accommodate that.
The Liberal Democrats would introduce a day one right to parental leave and pay for all workers, including the self-employed. They would also:
The Liberal Democrats would give zero-hours and agency workers a right to request a fixed-hours contract after 12 months. Employers would have to seriously consider this request.
The Liberal Democrats would add 'caring' and 'care experience' to the list of protected characteristics. This would protect people who have caring responsibilities against discrimination in the workplace.
The Liberal Democrats would introduce measures to boost awareness and train employers on neurodiversity. They would also raise employers' awareness of the Access to Work Scheme.
The Liberal Democrats would require larger businesses to publish data on their gender, ethnicity, disability, LGBT+ pay gaps.
The Liberal Democrats would replace the salary threshold scheme with a merit based system for work visas. NHS and care staff would be exempt from the £1,000 a year immigration skills charge.
The Liberal Democrats would replace the apprenticeship levy with a skills and training levy.
The Liberal Democrats would establish a new Worker Protection Enforcement Authority, unifying the responsibilities currently spread across three agencies. This would be aimed at enforcing the minimum wage, tackling modern slavery and protecting agency workers.
The Liberal Democrats would establish mental health hubs for young people in every community and offer mental health check-ups to those most vulnerable, including new and expectant mothers.
The Liberal Democrats would turn water companies into public benefit companies, ban bonuses for water bosses until discharges and leaks end. Plus, make it a requirement for all water companies to publish accessible real-time data on dumped sewage.
The Liberal Democrats would pass a Clean Air Act based on WHO guidelines, enforced by a new Air Quality Agency.
The Liberal Democrats would strengthen the Office for Environmental Protection and increase funding to the Environment Agency and Natural England to protect the environment and enforce environmental laws.
The Liberal Democrats would give local authorities greater powers and resources to inspect and monitor food production.
If they come into power, Reform say they plan to cut a significant number of existing employment laws.
Reform have said they will introduce two new public holidays for St George's Day and St David's Day.
Reform have pledged to replace the Equality Act, which could remove existing protections for employees with certain characteristics.
Reform would scrap Net Zero targets and renewable energy subsidies.
Reform would fast-track licences for North Sea gas, oil and nuclear energy with new Small Modular Reactors. They would also increase and incentivise lithium mining for electric batteries and explore clean coal mining.
Labour have promised a long list of employment law changes for your business. As as the UK's new government, you'll need to start preparing your paperwork and processes for major updates.
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