Emma Hand, our legal intern, has conducted a comprehensive review of Labour’s policies, providing insights into the potential trajectory of workers’ rights in the coming months. Below is a summary of their findings, offering clarity on the implications for the workforce:
What are Labour’s policies around worker’s rights?
In the past, Labour have been known for their advocation for a fair working environment, this comes as no surprise as some of their core morals are social justice and economic fairness. Following their return to government after winning the general election by a land slide, the party have set out policies that they believe will help combat issues that UK workers feel challenged by in a period where the world of work is everchanging.
Labour’s approach consists of stabilising the workplace to create a secure future for the UK and its workers, both economically and socially. In this article, I will discuss five key policies that Labour have proposed and how they will be beneficial for UK workers. Within their approach, they aim to implement policies such as increasing the minimum wage, reducing the gender and age pay gaps and increasing job security through stricter protections around zero-hour contracts and unfair dismissals. Other policies consist of more health and safety laws and being anti-discriminatory in the workplace. Labour have proposed these policies to support the UK’s economic growth, but ensuring the economic growth will be sustainable, through supporting workers.
Labour has pledged that they are going to increase the minimum wage to a living wage – a wage that reflects the current cost of living, reducing the risk of poverty as a result of an insufficient wage. Alongside this, Labour plans to reduce inequalities in wages between genders and ages, also in an attempt to reduce levels of poverty in the UK. If rules aren’t complied with, strict penalties will be put in place to correct the issue, says Labour.
Another key part of Labour’s plan is job security. To tackle job security issues like ‘exploitive’ zero-hour contracts and unfair dismissals, they plan to abolish zero hour and ensure dismissals from employment is just. To challenge zero-hour contracts, the aim is to establish a fixed hour contract for all employees. This will be based off of a median number of hours worked across 12 hours. Workers will benefit from this as they have more security in having consistent shifts, which allows for a more stable income from they work.
As for unfair dismissals, Labour’s policy plans to abolish the current arbitrary system, which leaves uncertainty around when workers can access support for their unfair dismissal. The new policy that they are bringing in allows workers to have their rights from day one at the workplace, so, in the case of an unfair dismissal, they have the resources they need to address the issue immediately, whereas on the current arbitrary system, this could take up to 2 years.
Among these plans health and safety is a priority, with tweaks being made to current policies. For example, new regulations around working in high temperatures and long covid will be made, to ensure precautions taken are acceptable and fair for workers – helping the workplace be safe and equal.
Finally, Labour will introduce a Single Enforcement Body which will examine workplaces to ensure that discrimination is prohibited in the workplace. If during a review of the conduct in the company discrimination is detected, repercussions will be put in place to ensure rules are abided by. The main goal of this policy is to enforce the idea that all workers are equal and the exploitation of vulnerable people isn’t available to employers or fellow employees, ensuring a safe and respectful workplace.
These new policies benefit both the economy and the work, as the economy will continue to grow, but in a fair way for the worker. These updates to working conditions have the worker at the heart of them, ’to make work pay’. Above all, sustainable growth both economically and socially is being promoted to contemporary British society, yet also providing a suitable path for workers in the future.
All information has been gathered from: Labour’s Plan to Make Work Pay