Agreement reached with key stakeholders on the unfair dismissal elements of the Employment Rights Bill
ANOTHER MANIFESTO PLEDGE DITCHED?
The UK Government convened a series of constructive conversations between trade unions and business representatives.On the basis of the outcome of these discussions, the Government will now move forward on the issue of unfair dismissal protections in the Employment Rights Bill to ensure it can reach Royal Assent and keep to the Government’s published delivery timeline.
This will mean delivering day one rights to sick pay and paternity leave in April 2026 as well as launching the Fair Work Agency. Reforms to benefit millions of working people, including some of the lowest paid workers, would otherwise be significantly delayed if the Bill does not reach Royal Assent in line with our delivery timetable. Businesses too need time to prepare for what are a series of significant changes.
The discussions concluded that reducing the qualifying period for unfair dismissal from 24 months to 6 months (whilst maintaining existing day one protection against discrimination and automatically unfair grounds for dismissal) is a workable package. It will benefit millions of working people who will gain new rights and offer business and employers much needed clarity.
To further strengthen these protections, the Government has committed to ensure that the unfair dismissal qualifying period can only be varied by primary legislation and that the compensation cap will be lifted.
As a result of these constructive conversations, tabling of the necessary amendments, and a commitment by the Government to a robust process to ensure full, fair and transparent consultation and discussion on the detail and application of the secondary legislation, businesses and unions agree that the Bill can progress.
This will enable the Government to deliver the necessary consultations and implementation in line with its timetable and manifesto commitments to Make Work Pay.
The Government was pleased to facilitate these discussions and to set an example of the benefits of working together, and remains committed to continue engaging with trade unions, business and employers to make working lives better, support businesses and, vitally, deliver economic growth and good job creation.
The Government is particularly aware of the need to support small businesses in the effective adoption of these changes. Constructive dialogue and full consultation with business, employers and unions will continue beyond the passage of the Bill.
The TUC said: ‘Government will reduce the qualifying period for full protection from unfair dismissal from two years to six months. There’ll also be no statutory probation period.
“The Employment Rights Bill is essential to better quality, more secure jobs for millions of workers. The absolute priority now is to get these rights – like day one sick pay – on the statute book so that working people can start benefitting from them from next April.
“Following the government’s announcement, it’s now vital that Peers respect Labour’s manifesto mandate and that this Bill secures Royal Assent as quickly as possible.”
The landmark Employment Rights Bill is ‘vote winner’
Voters in every constituency overwhelmingly support key measures to strengthen workers’ rights, according to new polling published by the TUC and Hope Not Hate today.
In recent months, there has been criticism of the Bill from Conservative and Reform politicians and parts of the business lobby.
But this polling decisively proves that those opponents are a world away from the views of the British public.
The public wants stronger worker protections
The poll of over 21,000 people reveals huge backing across the country and across the political spectrum – including with Reform and Conservative voters – for key policies in the Bill. The poll shows:
Banning zero hours contracts by giving workers a contract that reflects their regular hours: More than 7 in 10 (72%) of UK voters support a ban on zero hours contracts – including 2 in 3 Reform (65%) and Conservative (63%) voters from the 2024 general election support banning zero hours contracts. The figure is even higher with those saying they would vote Conservative (65%) and Reform (67%) if there was a general election held tomorrow. Just 15% oppose the policy.
Giving all workers statutory sick pay from day one: 3 in 4 (74%) voters support giving all workers the right to statutory sick pay, and ensuring it is paid from the first day – including 2 in 3 Reform (64%) and Conservative (62%) voters from the 2024 general election. The figure is even higher with those saying they would vote Conservative (65%) and Reform (66%) if there was a general election held tomorrow. Just 14 % oppose the policy.
Giving all workers protection from unfair dismissal from day one: 3 in 4 (73%) voters support giving all workers protection from unfair dismissal from the first day in the job – including 2 in 3 Reform (62%) and Conservative (62%) voters from the 2024 general election. The figure is even higher with those saying they would vote Conservative (65%) and Reform (64%) if there was a general election held tomorrow. Just 14% oppose the policy.
Making it easier for people to have flexibility in their patterns or hours of work: 3 in 4 (74%) voters support making it easier to work flexibly – including 2 in 3 Reform (63%) and Conservative (64%) voters from the 2024 general election. The figure is even higher with those saying they would vote Conservative (67%) and Reform (65%) if there was a general election held tomorrow. Just 12% oppose the policy.
Break down by constituency level
The poll breaks down to constituency level – and reveals that voters in every single constituency are behind the Bill’s flagship policies.
Click on the interactive map below to see how each constituency voted. Use the search field to find your constituency, and the drop-down menu at the top to view data for each policy.
Reform is defying its own voters on workers’ rights
Interestingly, the new poll shows the measures the government is taking through Parliament are hugely popular with Reform voters from 2024 as well as Reform-leaning voters (those who would vote Reform if there was an election tomorrow).
In every Reform-held constituency, including in Reform leader Nigel Farage’s seat, there is significant support for banning zero hours contracts and giving sick pay to everyone from day one.
And yet Reform MPs have voted against the Bill at every stage. The party are defying their own voters and constituents on workers’ rights. This proves beyond doubt that Nigel Farage and Reform aren’t on the side of working people – they’re on the side of bad bosses, zero hours contracts and fire and rehire.
Labour, Conservative, Green and Lib Dem voters also significantly back the policies. It’s clear that the Employment Rights Bill is that rare thing – a policy which is genuinely popular across traditional party lines.
Time for change
After the failed Conservative era of a low-rights, low-pay, and low-growth economy, voters can see the importance of making work pay and ending the scourge of insecure work.
That’s why the government must ignore the noise and deliver the Employment Rights Bill in full.
Improving job quality and putting more money into people’s pockets is an urgent national mission and a key plank of the government’s wider plan to grow the economy. Those who defend the broken status quo are simply putting their own vested interests above working people.
Voters across the political spectrum want work to pay and to feel secure and respected in their jobs. The government has a historic opportunity – and an electoral mandate – to make work pay. The plan to make work pay is hugely popular, and this poll should give ministers the confidence to deliver it in full.
New analysis shows more than a million employees didn’t get any of the paid holiday they were entitled to last year – with BME employees hardest hit
Union body says Tory failures on labour market enforcement have allowed bad bosses to exploit staff
TUC launches “five-point plan for enforcement” as new polling shows “huge support” for better enforcement from voters across the political spectrum
And union body says government’s Fair Work Agency could bring enforcement bodies together with “real teeth” to “finally hold rogue employers to account”
Workers across the UK are being “cheated” out £2 billion worth of holiday pay, according to a new report published to mark the beginning of the TUC’s 146th annual Congress today (Sunday).
UK workers are legally entitled to 28 days paid leave for a typical five-day week, with pro-rata entitlement for those who work fewer than five days.
But research by the union body shows that 1.1 million employees (1 in 25 employees) did not get a single one of the 28 days’ paid holiday, or equivalent, they were entitled to last year.
TUC analysis shows these missing weeks add up to £2 billion in lost holiday pay – or on average £1,800 per affected employee.
BME workers and low-paid hardest hit
The research shows that Black and minority ethnic (BME) staff were hardest hit – 6% of BME employees did not get any paid holiday last year, compared to 4% of white employees.
And low-paid workers were most at risk of losing their paid holiday entitlement. The jobs with the highest numbers of staff losing out were waiters and waitresses (59,000), care workers and home carers (55,000), and kitchen and catering assistants (50,000).
Millions missing out on key employment rights
In addition to holiday pay, the union body says millions of workers are missing out on many other basic employment rights due to a lack of enforcement.
Recent analysis from the government’s Low Pay Commission found that 365,000 workers are underpaid the minimum wage – more than one in five of all workers on the wage floor.
And the Resolution Foundation also found hundreds of thousands of workers have been shut out of basic rights like access to their payslip (1.8 million) so can’t check if they are being paid correctly, and auto-enrolment into a pension scheme (600,000).
The TUC says the main reasons people are missing out on paid holiday are:
Workplace cultures where workers fear that requesting paid time off could lead to being treated unfavourably.
Workers being set unrealistic workloads that do not allow time to take leave.
Employers deliberately denying holiday requests and managing out people’s leave.
Employers not keeping up to date with the law.
Five-point plan on enforcement
To address this enforcement crisis, the TUC is today (Sunday) launching its five-point plan for effective enforcement of employment rights in the UK.
The union body says that workers are currently losing out on wages and other key entitlements, while decent employers are undercut by those that don’t meet their legal duties.
The TUC report supports the new Labour government’s pledge to introduce a Fair Work Agency bringing together several existing state enforcement bodies. It calls on ministers to:
Create a properly resourced single enforcement body with a strong union voice in its governance structures.
Recycle fines back into the enforcement system.
Increase the number of inspectors and inspections.
Extend the licensing scheme to new sectors.
Build international links and create a firewall with immigration enforcement to crack down on the exploitation of migrant workers.
The Fair Work Agency
As part of the Employment Rights Bill, Labour has pledged to create a new Fair Work Agency – a single enforcement body with power to crack down on bad employment practices, uphold rights at work and level the playing field for good employers who follow the rules.
It will help bolster the work of unions to ensure people are treated fairly at work.
TUC polling of more than 3,000 voters – conducted by Opinium on the day after the election – showed large-scale backing across the political spectrum for Labour’s Fair Work Agency.
More than six in 10 (61%) voters support introducing a single enforcement body to make sure that workers’ rights are properly enforced – with less than one in 10 (8%) against.
And the polling showed clear support for the agency across the political spectrum.
Conservative voters support the policy by a margin of around three (50%) to one (17%), and there is even more support for the Fair Work Agency amongst Reform voters (53% to 13%).
TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: “We all deserve a break from work to spend time off with our friends and family.
“But more than a million working people have been deprived of any of the paid leave they are due. And hundreds of thousands more have been denied basic rights like being paid the minimum wage.
“The Conservative government sat back and let bad employers cheat their staff out of their basic workplace rights.
“Tory ministers were more concerned about stopping people getting what they were due by introducing anti-union measures, than funding enforcement bodies properly.”
On the need for the new government’s Employment Bill and Fair Work Agency, Paul Nowak said: “Now it’s time to reset the dial and to end the Tories’ race to the bottom.
“This week at Congress we will be debating how we can drive up standards at work. These shocking findings show why we need the Employment Rights Bill and the Fair Work Agency.
“Working people deserve to be treated fairly and have a minimum floor of rights upheld.
“And there is huge support from the public – right across the political spectrum – for this.”
On the need for a level playing field, Paul Nowak added: “Good employers have nothing to fear as they’re already playing by the rules. Now it’s time to level the playing field.
“Labour’s Fair Work Agency must have real teeth and hold rogue employers who think they are above the law to account.”
Voters are calling out for a significant boost to workers’ rights, post-election polling conducted for the TUC has found
Labour’s historic election win came off the back of UK voters overwhelmingly feeling that things were getting worse.
Whether it was the economy, the NHS, public services or personal finances, people felt things were going the wrong way
For 14 years a succession of Conservative governments put workers’ rights in reverse, making it harder for people to secure decent pay and conditions.
While the number of workers in insecure work soared to 4.1m, the Tories brought in punitive trade union laws, introduced tribunal fees and doubled the qualifying period for unfair dismissal protection.
This led to a huge 63% of the electorate feeling that the Conservative party was no longer on the side of working people.
What is coming over the horizon is Labour’s positive New Deal for working people, an ambitious set of reforms that would transform the lives of all working people.
A poll of 3,000 voters commissioned by the TUC shows huge backing across the political spectrum for improving protections at work and for the fundamental policies that underpin Labour’s New Deal for working people.
The polling reveals what voters thought about Labour’s key employment right policies:
Implementing a real living wage: Three-quarters (77%) of 2024 voters support Labour’s commitment to ensure that the national minimum wage rises to be a real living wage.
Strengthening unfair dismissal: Nearly 2 in 3 (64%) of all 2024 election voters support the day one right to protection from unfair dismissal.
Making sick pay a day 1 right: Nearly 7 in 10 voters (69%) back Labour’s plan to make statutory sick pay available from the first day of sickness.
Ban on fire and rehire: Two-thirds (66%) of voters support a ban on fire and rehire.
Ban on zero hours contracts: Nearly 7 in 10 (67%) voters support banning zero-hours contracts by offering all workers a contract that reflects their normal hours of work and compensation for cancelled shifts.
And there is majority support for collective rights too, including:
Union access to workplaces: 2024 voters by a margin over two to one (46% in favour, 19% against) support giving trade unions a right to access workplaces to tell workers about the benefits of joining a trade union.
Voters across the political spectrum want work to pay and to feel secure and respected in their jobs. Labour’s workers’ rights plans are hugely popular, and this poll should give ministers confidence to get on with delivering them in full.
Working people want a government that is on their side and that will improve the quality of work in this country. After 14 years of stagnating living standards, the UK needs to turn the page on our low-rights, low-pay economy that has allowed good employers to be undercut by the bad.
Trade union campaigns and ideas formed the bedrock of the New Deal for working people. Trade unions will be working flat out with the new government to see these commitments come to fruition.
Nearly 50 organisations including the TUC, Citizens Advice, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Fawcett Society, Maternity Action, Women’s Budget Group and Liberty call on government to reconsider its plans
Unions, legal networks and rights organisations have today (Monday) slammed the government’s decision to reintroduce employment tribunal fees.
In a joint statement penned by 48 organisations and campaigners including the TUC, Citizens Advice, Maternity Action, Women’s Budget Group, Liberty, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Fawcett Society, Mother Pukka, the groups call on the government to urgently reconsider its plans.
In 2017, after Unison brought a legal challenge, the Supreme Court quashed the previous tribunal fees regime because it “effectively prevents access to justice and is therefore unlawful.”
The joint statement says the decision will put yet another hurdle in front of those seeking justice, highlighting the existing barriers working people face including:
Lack of awareness of key employment rights and the process for bringing a claim.
Strict time limits on filing claims.
An under-resourced employment tribunal system leading to significant delays in cases being heard.
An under-funded labour market enforcement system that doesn’t have enough inspectors to proactively enforce employment rights.
The groups say that introducing fees will encourage exploitation of workers:
“We believe this will deter many from lodging worthy claims and gives a green light to bad employers to exploit their workers.
“Bad employers are being given the go-ahead to undercut good ones, safe in the knowledge they are less likely to face claims in the employment tribunal.
“Employment rights are only real if they are enforced. Tribunal fees risk pricing many workers out of workplace justice.”
They raise concerns about the impact on workers in the middle of a cost of living crisis:
“Workers seeking recovery of wage theft, unpaid redundancy pay and compensation for unfair dismissal are to be asked to stump up extra money at an incredibly tough moment in their lives.
“Fee exemption procedures are complex and difficult to understand for many, especially within the three months’ time limit for most claims.
“Fees are also being levied at a time when rising inflation and subdued wages are putting pressure on family budgets. Access to justice must never be contingent on your ability to pay.”
And they warn that those at the sharp end includes workers already at high risk of mistreatment
“Tribunal fees risk pricing many workers out of workplace justice, especially workers at greater risk of employment law violations such as pregnant workers, disabled workers and migrant workers.”
TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: “All working people should be able to enforce their rights. But introducing fees for tribunals puts yet another hurdle in the way of those seeking justice at their most vulnerable moment.
“The Conservatives have already tried this and failed. Last time they introduced tribunal fees, claims dropped by two-thirds. And the Supreme Court threw fees out – saying they interfered with access to justice.
“That should have been the nail in the coffin for these cynical plans, but ministers have decided to side with bad bosses over workers and resurrect employment tribunal fees.
“Employment tribunal fees give employers a pass to exploit workers – whether it’s discrimination, unfair sackings or withheld wages.
“Working people shouldn’t be picking up the bill for exploitative employers’ poor behaviour. It’s plain wrong. Ministers must halt their plans without delay.”
Rosalind Bragg, Director at Maternity Action Group, said: “For pregnant women and new mothers in the cost of living crisis, every penny counts. Charging fees for employment tribunal claims puts the justice system out of reach for women at a time when they are most in need of protection.
“If the Government is serious about stamping out maternity discrimination, they should be reducing barriers to justice not increasing them. Fees will reduce the deterrent effect of the employment tribunal, reassuring bad employers that they can get away with breaking the law.
“We have laws in place to secure equal treatment of pregnant women and new mothers at work but these are ineffective without the robust operation of the employment tribunal.
“Fees are a step backwards in the fight for gender equality.”
The Joint Statement reads:
As organisations that advocate for workers’ ability to enforce their rights, we strongly oppose the government’s plans to impose fees on people who file an employment tribunal claim.
Following a landmark victory by trade union UNISON, the previous employment fees regime was ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court due to its restriction on access to justice and discriminatory impact.
It appears the government is intent on repeating the mistakes of the past.
We believe reintroducing tribunal fees would block many from lodging worthy claims and give a green light to bad employers to exploit their workers.
There are already considerable barriers to those seeking justice at work:
An under-resourced employment tribunal system leading to significant delays in cases being heard.
An under-funded labour market enforcement system that doesn’t have enough inspectors to proactively enforce employment rights.
Lack of awareness of key employment rights.
A complicated process for bringing a claim.
Difficulty in accessing legal support.
Strict time limits on filing claims.
Workers seeking recovery of wage theft, unpaid redundancy pay and compensation for unfair dismissal are to be asked to stump up extra money at an incredibly tough moment in their lives. Fee exemption procedures are complex and difficult to understand for many, especially within the three months’ time limit for most claims.
Fees are also being levied at a time when rising inflation and subdued wages are putting pressure on family budgets. Access to justice must never be contingent on your ability to pay.
Meanwhile bad employers are being given the go-ahead to undercut good ones, safe in the knowledge they are less likely to face claims in the employment tribunal.
Employment rights are only real if they are enforced. Tribunal fees risk pricing many workers out of workplace justice, especially workers at greater risk of employment law violations such as pregnant workers, disabled workers and migrant workers.
We urge the government to reconsider its plans.
Signatories:
Trades Union Congress
Focus on Labour Exploitation (FLEX)
Maternity Action
Pregnant Then Screwed
Young Women’s Trust (Clairee Reindorp, CEO)
Liberty
Mother Pukka, Anna Whitehouse
Inclusion London
BARAC UK
Citizens Advice
Anti Trafficking and Labour Exploitation Unit (ATLEU)
The William Gomes Podcast
After Exploitation
Latin American Women’s Rights Service (LAWRS) for Refugees
Migrant Voice
Kalayaan
Work Rights Centre
Southeast and East Asian Centre (SEEAC)
Kanlungan Filipino Consortium
Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association (ILPA)
Community Policy Forum
Right to Remain
Advice Services Alliance
Anti-Slavery International
Migrants’ Rights Network
Disability Rights UK
Legal Action Group
Protect
Fawcett Society
Your Employment Settlement Service
Just Fair
Labour Behind the Label
Legal Aid Practitioners Group
Highfields Centre
War on Want
The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI)
The UK’s long experiment with a low-rights, low-wage economy is drawing to an end, and employers need to recognise now is not the time for foot-dragging (writes TUC’s TIM SHARP).
Rupert Soames, president of business lobby group the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), was this week driven to acknowledge that improved workers’ rights is “really good for people who are employed”.
This matters because bolstering workers’ rights is central to the Labour Party’s New Deal for working people.
This pledges sweeping but necessary changes including stamping out the exploitative use of zero hours contracts, ending the ability of employers to fire and rehire workers on lower wages, and scrapping the current wait for up to two years for basic workplace protections.
Such reform is desperately needed.
Rise in insecure work
TUC analysis of official figures shows that by the end of 2022 there were around 3.9 million people in insecure employment, a rise of 23 per cent since the coalition took office – almost double the rise of 12 per cent in overall employment growth.
As Soames, having recently spent eight years as chief executive of outsourcing giant Serco, will be well aware: insecure work disproportionately affects groups of workers who are already discriminated against in the workplace, such as Black and minority ethnic (BME) workers.
Over half of those living in poverty are in working households – and this rises to three quarters of children living in poverty.
Even the current government promised 20 times to introduce an employment bill. But the pledge remains unfilled.
Faltering economy
Meanwhile, the flawed idea that weak workers’ rights means a stronger economy and higher productivity has been tested to destruction.
As the Resolution Foundation has pointed out: “Labour productivity grew by just 0.4 per cent a year in the UK in the 12 years following the financial crisis, half the rate of the 25 richest OECD countries (0.9 per cent).”
Moreover, things are getting worse not better. Economic growth is flatlining with the country teetering on the brink of recession.
The relentless undermining of wages and incomes has repercussions on spending in the economy, with household consumption failing.
This is why Richard Walker, boss of grocery chain Iceland, switched support to Labour citing concern about the impact of the rising cost of living on their customers.
Higher pay and greater security are clearly in the interests of both workers and businesses, for they mean more spending and more revenues for business.
Watering down
Soames warned that “European model” of stronger worker rights, while benefiting those in work, is “really bad for people who are unemployed because companies are terrified to take them on”.
This suggests some in business are oblivious to the events of the past decade or so.
The Marmot review, for example, recognised that insecure and poor quality employment is associated with an increased risk of physical and mental health worsening. That in turn leads to absence due to illness, and worklessness.
No wonder businesses continue to complain of staff shortages.
Indeed his language is reminiscent of the apocalyptic and entirely inaccurate warnings that a national minimum wage would lead to two million more unemployed.
The incoming Labour government in 1997 was right to disregard claims from the Right that the minimum wage would cost millions of jobs. Now there is a wealth of evidence, over 25 years of the minimum wage, that it has protected the lowest paid with no employment effects at all.
It should take unevidenced claims about the New Deal in the same spirit.
Behind the times
While some in the business lobby are dragging their heels, previous advocates of unconstrained free markets now advocate reform.
The OECD’s 2018 Jobs Strategy finally put to bed its long standing celebration of flexibility and market fundamentalism.
“Countries with policies and institutions that promote job quality, job quantity and greater inclusiveness perform better than countries where the focus of policy is predominantly on enhancing (or preserving) market flexibility,” it said.
In the UK, the Institute for Fiscal Studies warned that: “Higher earnings inequality, with low real earnings growth, and a very different labour market from 40 years ago have placed the world of work in a much more unequal and divisive place. To halt or reverse this trend requires significant attention be devoted to ways to restore and reinvigorate real earnings growth and to generate decent jobs with good career opportunities in an inclusive way”.
Conclusions
A radical and effective programme is long overdue both for workers – whether currently in employment, looking for work or will be joining the jobs market in future – and for the wider economy.
As TUC general secretary Paul Nowak told the CBI conference last year: “Decent employers will recognise the promise of Labour’s economic reset and work with unions to boost productivity, skills and security at work.”
Now is not the time for foot-dragging. The economy needs a major reboot and the opponents of change need to get out of the way.
Government sets out the next stages for a number of new Workers’ Rights Acts to support UK workers
UK Government sets out next steps to improve the lives of workers across the UK
Benefits include tips worth £200 million a year in the pockets of hardworking people and more say over working patterns
Government ‘also backing British workers’ by introducing the biggest ever increase to the National Living Wage
Millions are set to benefit as the Westminster government sets out the next stages for a number of new Workers’ Rights Acts – giving more money and more say back to UK workers.
Benefits range from £200 million more back in the pockets of hard-working people, to greater flexibility over when, where and how you work.
Business and Trade Minister Kevin Hollinrake said: “As we approach Christmas, it’s more vital than ever that we do what we can to support workers and families across the country.
“I’d like to encourage businesses to be as flexible as possible and give their hard-working employees the tips they deserve.
“I want to thank the MPs who brought forward this legislation to support hard working families and shape the UK’s outstanding workers’ rights record.”
The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023, which became law in May this year, requires employers to pass all tips on to workers.
Most employers already pass on tips to the staff who earn them. However, there are still some unacceptable tipping practices by unscrupulous employers, which must be stopped.
Christmas is an incredibly busy season for hospitality workers, and usually a time of year when customers are more generous with their tips. All employees deserve to receive their fair share of tips, so the Government has launched a public consultation on the Tipping Act’s Code of Practice to gain feedback from employers, workers and other stakeholders on the fair and transparent distribution of tips.
Acas Chief Executive Susan Clews said: “The shift in recent years towards increased use of flexible working by organisations has allowed more people to better balance their working lives and enabled employers to attract and retain skilled staff.
“Acas has recently consulted on a new draft Code of Practice which outlines good practice around requests for flexible working and explains the forthcoming changes in the law to employers and employees.”
New rights to protect new parents from redundancy, give carers extra support and help all employees work flexibly are also a step closer as government has laid legislation with plans for the measures to come in next spring.
These measures will improve the lives of hard-working families across Britain, aiding workers who have caring responsibilities or parents at risk of redundancy and ensuring everyone is able work as flexibly as needed into the new year.
An extra 2.6 million workers across the UK will benefit from the removal of the 26 week qualifying period that is currently required before making a flexible working request.
Those with caring responsibilities will also be entitled to a brand new employment right to a week’s leave to care for a dependent.
Redundancy protections are also being extended to cover pregnancy, as well as to new parents.
The UK Government is are also backing British workers by introducing the biggest ever increase to the National Living Wage, worth over £1,800 a year for a full-time worker, fulfilling the pledge to end low pay.
When this increase comes into effect in April, the National Living Wage will be worth nearly £21,000 a year for a full time worker – almost double, in cash terms, the amount which a full time worker on the National Minimum Wage earned in 2010.
For the first time, 21 years olds will be legally entitled to the National Living Wage, which is set to reach two-thirds of average earnings.
A new single rate for the national minimum wage to reflect the increased cost of living, and more effective employment law to protect workers’ rights underpin plans to build a fairer labour market in an independent Scotland, according to Deputy First Minister John Swinney.
Following publication of the paper Building a New Scotland: A stronger economy with independence, Mr Swinney said the powers of independence would allow the Scottish Government to build a fairer, more equal future for all workers. This includes new measures to improve access to flexible working and better industrial relations.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “Improving job security, wages and work-life balance are essential to delivering a more socially just Scotland. The UK labour market model has generated high income inequality while failing to drive productivity growth.
“Compared to independent European countries similar to Scotland, the UK has a higher prevalence of low pay, a bigger gender pay gap, longer working hours and significantly lower statutory sick pay.
“The Scottish Government is committed to Fair Work, but we could go much further to strengthen that agenda in an independent Scotland, developing a legal framework that more effectively addresses the workplace challenges of the 21st century. It would give us an opportunity to redesign the system to better meet the needs of Scotland’s workers and employers.”
Specific measures proposed in the paper include:
establishing a Scottish Fair Pay Commission to lead a new approach to setting a national minimum wage, working with employers, trade unions and government
improving pay and conditions with a single rate minimum wage for all age groups and better access to flexible work to help parents and carers
repealing the UK Trade Union Act 2016 as part of developing an approach to industrial relations which suits both workers and employers
introducing a law to help workers organise co-operative buyouts or rescues when a business is up for sale or under threat
legislating to support workers in precarious employment, and banning the practice of staff being made redundant and re-hired on reduced wages and conditions
increasing transparency in pay reporting and data to address gender, ethnicity and disability pay gaps and building on Scottish Government work to break down barriers to employment
The paper outlines how it would be easier for an independent Scotland to deal with labour market shocks.
In responding to the global financial crisis and pandemic, other countries were able to quickly draw on existing institutions and initiatives. This could include a permanent short-time working scheme, modelled on the German Kurzarbeit programme which provides compensation for private sector workers whose hours are reduced because of economic difficulty. A scheme like this in Scotland could help retain skills, reduce long-term unemployment and the associated costs and allow for more rapid economic recovery.
Job Security Councils, modelled on a Swedish initiative, could provide support to workers who have lost – or are at risk of losing – their jobs. These non-profit foundations led by social partners, employer representative bodies and trades unions, would help workers find new employment by providing a range of advice and high-quality retraining.
Eleven trade unions, coordinated by the TUC and represented by Thompsons Solicitors LLP, have began legal proceedings to protect the right to strike.
The unions – ASLEF, BFAWU, FDA, GMB, NEU, NUJ, POA, PCS, RMT, Unite and Usdaw – have taken the case against the UK government’s new regulations which allow agency workers to fill in for striking workers and break strikes.
The unions come from a wide range of sectors and represent millions of workers in the UK.
The unions argue that the regulations are unlawful because:
The then Secretary of State for business failed to consult unions, as required by the Employment Agencies Act 1973.
They violate fundamental trade union rights protected by Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The change has been heavily criticised by unions, agency employers, and parliamentarians.
The TUC has warned these new laws will worsen industrial disputes, undermine the fundamental right to strike and could endanger public safety if agency staff are required to fill safety critical roles but haven’t been fully trained.
The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), which represents suppliers of agency workers, described the proposals as “unworkable”.
The Lords Committee charged with scrutinising the legislation said “the lack of robust evidence and the expected limited net benefit raise questions as to the practical effectiveness and benefit” of the new laws.
The TUC also recently reported the UK government to the UN workers’ rights watchdog, the International Labour Organization (ILO), over the recent spate of anti-union and anti-worker legislation and proposals, including the government’s agency worker regulations, which it says are in breach of international law.
TUC affiliated unions UNISON and NASUWT are also launching separate individual legal cases against the government’s agency worker regulations.
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “The right to strike is a fundamental British liberty. But the government is attacking it in broad daylight.
“Threatening this right tilts the balance of power too far towards employers. It means workers can’t stand up for decent services and safety at work – or defend their jobs and pay.
“Ministers failed to consult with unions, as the law requires. And restricting the freedom to strike is a breach of international law.
“That’s why unions are coming together to challenge this change in the courts.
“Workers need stronger legal protections and more power in the workplace to defend their living standards – not less.”
Richard Arthur, Head of Trade Union Law at Thompsons Solicitors LLP, said: “The right to strike is respected and protected by international law including the Conventions of the ILO, an agency of the United Nations, and the European Convention on Human Rights.
“The Conservative government should face up to its legal obligations under both domestic and international law, instead of forever trying to undermine the internationally recognised right to strike.”
The TUC’s annual Congress has been rescheduled for 18-20 October 2022 following the death of Queen Elizabeth. The three-day event will take place at the Brighton Centre.
Anyone legally classed as an employee
