Summary
We provide a description of the fundamental changes proposed by the 2024 Labour government when it comes to Employment Law - otherwise known as their New Deal for Working People. The proposals will have far-reaching impacts on both employers and employees.
“Britain’s outdated employment laws are not fit for the modern economy” is the scene-setting quote for the employment proposals within the Labour Party Manifesto
Beyond that bold statement, Labour’s 2024 Manifesto does little beyond reaffirming their commitment to implement the New Deal for Working People in full.
Whilst the detail of how and when Labour plan to implement the “biggest upgrade to rights at work for a generation” largely remains to be seen, the Manifesto arguably gives employers an insight into Labour’s key priorities amongst its wide-ranging list of proposals.
Key points addressing Employment Law
The key proposals highlighted within the Manifesto include:
- Trade Unions: Strengthening the collective voice of workers by enhancing unions’ rights of access to the workplace and imposing a duty on employers to inform their staff of their right to join a union.
- Enforcement of rights: Creating a Single Enforcement Body to ensure that “workplace rights” (currently undefined) are enforced.
- Fire and Re-hire: 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.
- Day One Rights: Introducing basic rights (parental leave, sick pay and unfair dismissal rights) from day one. When it comes to unfair dismissal rights, Labour has made clear that although the current two-year qualifying period will be removed, the use of probationary periods will be permitted (subject to fair and clear rules and processes).
- Zero Hour Contracts: Banning “exploitative” zero hours contracts, a slight weakening of earlier proposals for an outright ban.
- Minimum Wage: Making the minimum wage a genuine living wage and ensuring that all adults are entitled to the same minimum wage regardless of age (ie removing the current age bands).
- Equal Pay: Strengthening working women’s rights to equal pay and taking action to reduce the gender pay gap. Labour has 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.
- 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). Additionally, Labour proposes to introduce a Race Equality Act to enshrine in law the right to equal pay for ethnic minorities, and to strengthen protections against dual discrimination.
- Rights of Disabled People: Labour has committed to championing the rights of disabled people by improving employment support and access to reasonable adjustments.
- LGBT+: Labour proposes to protect LGBT+ people and ensure that everyone is treated with respect and dignity.
What additional changes are proposed in the New Deal?
The top ten proposed changes are:
- Increase the time limit for bringing employment tribunal claims to six months from three months;
- 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;
- 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;
- Ensure flexible working is “a genuine default” from day one for all workers except where it is “not reasonably feasible”;
- Introduce a right for employees to have a contract reflecting their regular working hours (based on a 12-week reference period);
- Introduce a right to bereavement leave for all workers and the possibility of paid carers’ leave;
- Permit collective grievances to be raised “to ACAS”. It is currently unclear exactly what is meant by this proposal as grievances are made to an employer and not to ACAS. It is possible that the intention is for ACAS early conciliation to be permitted on a collective basis, but more likely that the intention is to allow for the possibility for collective grievances to be raised with employers;
- Make it unlawful to dismiss a pregnant worker for six months after their return to work “except in specific circumstances” (yet to be defined);
- Strengthen the rights and protections for workers subject to TUPE processes; and
- Ban unpaid internships except when they are part of an education or training course.
When might we expect these changes to be implemented?
Labour has reiterated its proposals to introduce legislation within 100 days and 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. Hopefully, a clear period will be set to allow employers time to prepare for the new employment world.
Our Employment Law team can help
These New Deal for Working People changes will not happen instantly, but they are on their way. They affect both employees and employers, and Cunningtons’ Employment Law team keep themselves updated with the situation.
Please feel free to contact us if you wish to discuss any of these changes, and how they might affect you.