The Memo: What changes might Labour make to employment law?

Labour campaigned on the idea that it would bring change to the country, so what’s in store for employment law now the party has won? The general theme running through the changes laid out in Labour’s manifesto is a strengthening of workers’ rights in relation to their employers. There’s rather a lot they’ve said they’ll change, so we’ll give you a bit of a speedrun through some of the main proposals. 

Firstly, Labour seeks to end zero-hours contracts, which its manifesto describes as “exploitative.” Although workers on these contracts are entitled to statutory annual leave and the national minimum wage like those on other contracts, they are not guaranteed any working hours. However, they aren’t required to work when they don’t want to and aren’t banned from accepting work from another employer, as they might be on a more traditional contract. Labour has also vowed to end ‘fire and rehire.’ This is where an employer may introduce a change to a contract by dismissing then rehiring an employee on a new contract with different terms to the original one. The concern here is that employers can use the threat of losing employment to set undesirable working conditions. Similarly, Labour has promised to introduce unfair dismissal rights from day one. Currently, these rights kick in after two years of employment and cover dismissal over things like joining a trade union and requesting parental leave. 

Labour also plansto introduce greater protections for working parents. Employees will have the right to parental leave from the first day of their employmentand not after a year, which is the case under current guidelines. Similarly, the party wants to make it illegal to dismiss a woman within six months of her return from maternity leave. Another move that’s supposed to help parents is making flexible working the default from day one of employment, except in circumstances where it’s not feasible. But what does flexible working actually mean in UK law? Officially, it is defined as “a way of working that suits an employee’s needs, for example having flexible start and finish times, or working from home,” and employees have the right to request this arrangement. Presumably, making flexible working the default will remove the requirement to request it. 

One change that’s likely to be of interest to young people is Labour’s plan to remove “discriminatory” age bands on the minimum wage. Currently, employers can pay younger workers less than slightly older employees in the same position. The party also wants to change the way the national living wage is calculated to factor in the increasing cost of living. 

Labour has outlined many other proposed changes, including updates to laws concerning trade unions. It has also been suggested that Labour will introduce further categories of characteristics protected under the Equality Act 2010 and will change the law so that discrimination claims can be made based on a combination of protected characteristics rather than only one. There will also be a duty for employers to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment at work, including any harassment from third parties.