The story so far…….

At the time of writing (9 am on the 8th May 2017) the various party manifestos have not been released although it is expected that they will be published within the next 7-14 days. In any event the parties have already made suggestions of their election promises which could have a major impact on employers.

In my experience a change in government inevitably leads to a change in focus on employment law, which is one of the reasons it is always changing, and this coupled with the impact of Brexit means that there is certainly going to be some focus on workers’ rights and employers responsibilities from the main political parties.

Conservatives

It is expected that the Conservative manifesto will include:

• A guarantee an end to free movement of EU citizens. This which will certainly impact the recruitment of workers from the EU and will affect those employers who rely heavily on labour from the EU.
• An end to the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice. This will put an end to Employment Tribunal cases being referred to the European Court for a decision on the impact of EU law.
• Shake up of mental health provision and legislation including a pledge to toughen up on discrimination laws to protect those with mental health issues.

Labour

It is expected that the Labour manifesto will include:

• Plan to increase the National Minimum Wage to the same as the Living Wage and for this to increase to £10 per hour.
• Scrap zero hour contracts.
• Scrap unpaid internships.
• Four new bank holidays.
• Repeal of the Trade Union Act.
• Guaranteed trade union rights to access in every workplace.
• Policy to ensure public contracts are awarded to companies who recognise a trade union.
• Introduce maximum pay ratios meaning that the boss of the company can earn no more than 20 times that of the lowest paid workers.
• Abolish employment tribunal fees.
• Double paternity leave (to 4 weeks) and increase paternity pay.
• Add protection for unfair redundancy for women who have recently had a child.
• Re-instate protection against third-party harassment.
• Introducing civil enforcement for gender pay reporting.
• In relation to Brexit they planned to protect the rights of EU citizens already in the UK

Liberal Democrats

It is expected that the Liberal Democrat manifesto will include:

• Commitment to a second EU referendum.
• A pledge to stop forcing staff to register as self-employed. This refers to the growth in the ‘gig economy’.

The Green party

Previous policies of the Green party have included in relation to employment:

• 35 hour work week.
• Promotion of gender a quality.
• Mandatory Company Board gender balance of 40% women.

I will of course keep you updated on the employment policies that come from the political campaigns.

 Don’t forget getting advice from a Solicitor does not have to be complicated or costly!

Contact us on: 01983 897003, 0238 982006 or 01722 653001