Day: November 27, 2024

TUC: Workers’ rights reforms could benefit economy by over £13bn a year

  • New analysis shows how improving employment standards, employee well-being and modernising industrial relations will benefit the economy
  • TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak gave evidence to MPs as Employment Rights Bill enters committee stage
  • Making Work Pay agenda is an “urgent national mission” that is “good for workers and good for business”, says union body

New TUC analysis published yesterday (Tuesday) shows that even modest gains from the government’s workers’ rights reforms would benefit the UK economy by over £13bn a year.

The analysis models some of the key benefits of the Employment Rights Bill – identified by the government’s impact assessment of the Bill.

The research shows that even if the Bill just delivers small improvements in areas such as employee wellbeing, industrial relations and labour market participation the economic gains will outweigh any costs.

The analysis looks at the scale of the benefits implementing the Employment Rights Bill could bring across a range of workplace measures:

  • Workplace stress: Between £490 million and £974 million would be gained by reducing the number of working days lost to stress, depression or anxiety.
  • Staff well-being: Between £310 million and £930 million a year would be gained from improving staff well-being.
  • Minimum wage compliance: Between £42 million and £168 million a year would be gained through improving minimum wage compliance.
  • Strikes: Between £255 million and £510 million a year would be gained through resolving disputes that lead to workers taking action.
  • Industrial relations: Between £2.7bn and £8.1bn a year would be gained through reduced workplace conflict
  • Increased labour market participation: Between £1.3bn and £2.6bn a year would be gained through increasing employment for people currently looking after family or home.

The research shows that the cumulative impact of even modest improvements would be £13.3bn a year – and stronger outcomes could generate even greater gains.  

The TUC says the analysis confirms the view of the government’s impact assessment that there is “clear, evidence-based benefits of government action through the Bill.”

The impact assessment also warns that “not acting would enable poor working conditions, insecure work, inequalities and broken industrial relations to persist.”

Evidence to MPs

The findings were published as TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak prepared to give evidence to MPs as the Employment Rights Bill enters its committee stage.

Nowak told parliamentarians that improving the quality of work in Britain is an “urgent national mission” that will benefit workers and businesses alike.

Polling published in July revealed huge backing across the political spectrum for boosting workers’ rights.

And polling published in September revealed that an overwhelming majority (75%) of employers support the government’s measures, including nearly seven in 10 (69 per cent) of small businesses.  

TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: “Far too many working people are trapped in jobs that offer them little or no security. We can’t carry on with this broken status quo.

“Improving the quality of work in this country is an urgent national mission that will bring real economic gains.

“Driving up employment standards, improving employee well-being and increasing labour market participation is good for staff and good for businesses.

“When workers are treated well they are happier, healthier and more productive.

“The Employment Rights Bill is a historic opportunity to make work pay – and to create a level playing field that stops good employers from being undercut by the bad.  

“It must be delivered in full.”

Commenting on the impact of the Bill on employers, Paul added: “The TUC stands ready to work with the government and employers. We recognise that businesses and unions will need advice to understand and implement these changes.

“But there is no case for delaying the reforms. People need jobs they can build a decent life on.

“Many of the arguments being used against this legislation are the same ones that were used against introducing the minimum wage – one of the great policy successes of the last 25 years.

“They were wrong then and they are wrong now. When working people thrive so do businesses and the wider economy.” 

Enhanced support for people in emotional distress

Programme described as “world leading”

All 31 Health and Social Care Partnerships have now signed up to a programme which supports people experiencing distress.

The Distress Brief Intervention (DBI) service was first launched as a pilot seven years ago and provides support to people who present to emergency services or in primary care settings in a distressed state. Since then, more than 75,000 people have been helped.

The programme can offer people an initial call within 24 hours. They are then provided with up to two weeks of one-to-one support with a specially trained practitioner to help address issues which might be contributing to their distress, such as money worries and relationship problems.

Frontline staff in Police Scotland, Scottish Ambulance Service, Accident and Emergency Depts, Primary Care and NHS24 can refer people who present to them in emotional distress – and if assessed as appropriate – to third sector organisations which provide compassionate and personalised support.

People in distress who speak to a call handler at NHS24, Police Scotland or the Scottish Ambulance Service can also be referred for DBI support, from anywhere in Scotland. 

Public Health Minister Jenni Minto said: “In developing our world leading DBI programme over 75,000 people across Scotland have received the right support at the right time and in the right place.

“This innovative referral pathway and collaborative approach has helped reduce pressures in the Scottish Ambulance Service, A&E and Police Scotland, allowing frontline staff to focus on other responsibilities. 

“By investing £24 million in the programme since 2016, the Scottish Government has ensured a Scotland-wide approach has been taken to help people cope when they are in a distressed state.  It is clear that this help provided to people is invaluable.”

Professor Rory O’Connor, Professor of Health Psychology at University of Glasgow, President of the International Association for Suicide Prevention and co-lead for the intervention and training components of DBI, said: “DBI is an incredible achievement.

“Tens of thousands of people in distress have received immediate, compassionate support since its launch in 2017. DBI is a remarkable team effort by colleagues up and down the country, driven by the shared purpose of delivering compassionate, connected support to people when they need it.

“I am so proud to be involved in this world-leading mental health intervention.”

Kirstie McCulloch, who received support and now works for DBI said: “I was experiencing severe panic attacks, anxiety, and depression, due to the Covid lockdowns. NHS 24 helped me when I had a severe panic attack, and I came off the call feeling less distressed. I still needed some support, so I was referred to the DBI service, which in my local area is run by SAMH.

“I was a little unsure initially, but the support was invaluable. By the end of the two-week service, I felt I had a better perspective on how to move forward. I asked my practitioner how they came into the role, and I knew this was something I would like to do for others.

“In the 18 months I have worked here, I have delivered compassionate support and helped people get back on their feet. I get huge satisfaction from this role.

Assistant Chief Constable Catriona Paton said: “Policing is often the first response when people need help. Our mission is to keep people safe and we’ll always respond to threat, harm and risk to ensure public safety.

“Our involvement in mental health incidents and supporting vulnerable people has a significant impact on this organisation and is beyond where policing should be. That’s not the best support for those who need help and it’s not delivering best value for the public.

“DBI enables trained officers to identify when someone needs support and signpost them to the right service, allowing them to redirect to tackling threat, harm and risk and preventing crime.” 

First Minister: Government “from the ground up”

Vision for progress in St Andrew’s Day address ahead of 2025-26 Budget

First Minister John Swinney will use an address ahead of St Andrew’s Day to outline his vision for government – and his determination to deliver government from the ground up.

The First Minister will set out the need for collaboration and consensus-building to deliver solutions to some of the problems facing communities in Scotland.

Speaking ahead of next week’s Scottish Budget, the First Minister will commit the Scottish Government to prioritising funding and investment needed to build on his four priorities – eradicating child poverty, growing the economy, investing in public services and tackling the climate emergency.

The First Minister is expected to say: “Scotland is best served when we collaborate, when we build consensus and work together across sectors, across disciplines and across cultures.

“The need to do so has never been more urgent. For the issues we face now are complex, pervasive and entrenched – and they are mounting. 

“In these last seven years, we have seen global challenges stacked upon global challenges. From Brexit and COVID-19, to international conflicts, economic crises and climate disasters.

“On top of this, we have seen domestic problems, such as delayed discharge and the availability of housing, become more and more acute, due to rapidly increasing need in our society.

“Yet, too often – and particularly in politics – discussions and the public discourse are dominated by surface solutions, because they are the few that can gain consensus.

“The temptation then arises to throw money and strategies at a problem, or simply to find someone to blame for it, because the hard work of finding true consensus, of peer reviewing ideas in good faith, can feel unrealistic in our increasingly polarised reality.

“We must maintain enough hope and energy to work together, to understand the root causes and the complexity of problems and to find the right solutions.

“These solutions may not always be quick or easy – but that does not make them any less necessary. This is the approach that people should expect from a Swinney government.

“I want to bring people closer to their communities, which is particularly important in a country like Scotland, where the picture in the Central Belt or the Borders can be so different to the Highlands or the Islands.

“Being closer to our communities also makes it easier for us to bring those communities into policy-making: government from the ground up.”