back
What does the General Election mean for employment law reforms?
David Hodge specialist employment lawyer truro cornwall exeter

 

Contact the Employment Team

 

Exeter Office

Tel: 01392 210700            Email us

Truro Office

Tel: 01872 265100            Email us

Conservative Party

  • Parental Rights

Permitting up to 52 weeks leave to be shared by both parents (only mothers could take the first 14 weeks after the birth).

  • Flexible Working

Extending the right to request flexible working to every parent with a child under the age of 18, later extending it to all those in the public sector (possibly in stages) and in the longer term extending the right to all.

  • Addressing Public Sector Pay

Freezing pay for public sector workers (excluding a million of the lowest paid workers), publishing details of all public sector salaries over £150,000, requiring any Public Sector employee paid more than the Prime Minister to have their salary signed off by the Treasury and Cutting ministers' pay by 5%, followed by a five year pay freeze. The establishment of a 'fair pay commission' has also been mooted.

  • Equal Pay Reform

Requiring any employer found to be discriminating on the basis of gender to submit to an equal pay audit.

  • Reviewing the Agency Workers Regulations

On 15 March 2010, David Cameron put forward an Early Day Motion proposing that the Regulations (which will provide Agency Workers with enhanced right) be revoked.

  • Equality Bill Reform

The Conservatives have indicated that they would review the way that the Equality Act 2010 is brought into effect and possibly make changes to the Act itself, in particular to those provisions designed to tackle equal pay and new rules on positive action.

  • Retirement

Consideration of the abolition of the default retirement age.

  • Economic migration  

Imposing an annual limit on the number on non-EU economic migrants coming to the UK to live and work.

  • Reviewing the criminal records and "vetting and barring" system
  • Transferring bank regulation from the FSA to the Bank of England
  • Other Pledges

Various other pledges include consulting on proposed changes to the employment tribunal system to ensure "fast, cheap and accessible justice" and replacing the Human Rights Act 1998 with a UK Bill of Rights.

Labour Party

 

Labour has already made a large number of changes during its three consecutive terms in government and several pieces of further legislation are already in the pipeline;

  • Paternity Pay

Increasing paid paternity leave to four weeks and enabling fathers to take this time flexibly.

  • Maternity Leave

Allowing parents to share this entitlement (after a minimum of six months).

  • National Minimum Wage

Setting the Low Pay Commission the objective of increasing the national minimum wage at least in line with average earnings every year until 2015.

  • Addressing Public Sector Pay

Imposing new restrictions on senior pay in the public sector and capping public sector pay rises at 1% in 2011/12 and 2012/13.

  • Equal Pay Reform

Encouraging employers to make greater use of pay reviews and equality checks to eliminate pay inequality.

  • Flexible Working

Extending the right to request flexible working to older workers and removing the qualifying period.

  • Retirement

Abolishing default retirement at 65.

  • Economic Migration

Further tightening of criteria to work in the UK (with the aim of no unskilled migration from outside the EU), including requiring migrants seeking front line public sector jobs to pass a more robust English language test.

 

Liberal Democrats

 

The Liberal Democrats are apparently working towards a scenario of "one-in, one out" for new rules. Although what is 'out' is a little unclear, the following are likely to be in;

  • Job Application Forms

Introducing "name-blind" application forms for employers of over 100 employees to combat sex and race discrimination.

  • National Minimum Wage

Implementing a single minimum wage rate for all workers over 16 (except for those on apprenticeships). Requiring anyone undertaking an internship to be paid a training allowance of no less than £55 a week.

  • Flexible Working

Extending the right to request flexible working to all employees.

  • Equal Pay

Introducing 'fair pay' audits for every employer with over 100 employees.

  • Parental Rights

Giving fathers the right to time off work to attend ante-natal appointments. Allowing parents to share the allocation of maternity and paternity leave between them in whatever way suits them best and seeking to extend the period of shared parental leave for up to 18 months "when resources and economic circumstances allow".

  • Criminal Records Checks

Reforming and simplifying the process of criminal record checking for volunteers.

  • Retirement

Abolishing default retirement at 65.

  • Addressing Public Sector Pay

Capping pay rises in the public sector at £400 for two years.

 

If you would like to discuss any of the issues raised please contact David Hodge from Stephens Scown's Employment Law team in Exeter on 01392 429209.