Employment law in 2015: election fever?

Happy New Year to all of our regular readers.

The General Election will take place on 7 May 2015. Experienced HR and employment law practitioners will know that General Elections matter to employment law. Over recent years successive Governments have made major changes to the balance of employment rights and responsibilities between employees, employers and trade unions after coming into office.

It is fair to say that no radical employment law changes are planned before the election in May but significant Judgments can be expected from the Courts and Tribunals in relation to collective redundancy consultation and the ongoing saga of holiday pay. We will report on those decisions as soon as they are handed down. In addition the full Shared Parental Leave regime will take effect where the expected week of confinement (EWC) is on or after 5 April 2015.

In the meantime, it is worth taking a moment to review what the three leading political parties have planned in relation to employment law should they win the 2015 election (or hold the balance of power). Of course there are a number of smaller parties with their own employment law agendas, but it is less likely that those policies will see the light of day in terms of new legislation.

Conservatives

The proposals include:

• Changing the rules on strike action.  The proposals include:
  • a 50% minimum voting threshold for a strike to be lawful.
  • a new three-month time limit after a ballot for the strike action to take place.
  • a requirement for 14 days’ notice before unions take industrial action.
  • the criminalisation of certain types of picketing.
  • the current code of practice on picketing to become legally binding.

• Introducing a British Bill of Rights. If elected in 2015, the Conservatives will pass a new British Bill of Rights, which David Cameron suggested would replace the Human Rights Act 1998.
• Ending the use of exclusive zero hours contracts. David Cameron stated that the Conservatives would “scrap” exclusive zero hours contracts.
• Preventing the trafficking of workers. The Conservatives intend to achieve this through the Modern Slavery Bill.
• Potentially adding maternity pay for self-employed mothers to their election manifesto. Details are awaited.

Labour

The proposals include:

• Increasing the national minimum wage to £8 an hour by the end of the next Parliament in 2020. This is stated to be a “target”.
• Requiring companies to publish details of average pay to promote equal pay.
• Increasing free childcare for working parents to 25 hours’ a week.
• “Cracking down” on rogue employers who avoid the minimum wage and proper rights at work and restricting the use of zero hours contracts. This includes introducing new laws so that employees on zero hours contracts who are working regular hours will be entitled to regular contracts. Employees on zero hours contracts will also have the right to refuse requests to be available outside their contracted hours and will receive compensation when shifts are cancelled on short notice.
• Ensuring equal rights for self-employed individuals. Further details are awaited.
• Tackling “rogue” employment agencies. The Labour Party believes that the number of “rogue” employment agencies has increased in recent years. The Labour Party proposed to tackle this by removing the “Swedish derogation” from the Agency Workers Regulations 2010, banning overseas-only recruitment and introducing further measures on which the party will consult.
• Promoting equal pay between men and women. According to a senior member of the party, equal pay is viewed as “unfinished business”, which should have been addressed in Labour’s previous government.
• Abolishing employment tribunal fees? On 8 September 2014, the Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Chuka Umunna MP indicated that Labour will undertake major reforms of the employment tribunal system if elected in 2015. Mr Umunna suggested that the introduction of fees in the employment tribunals has curtailed individuals’ access to justice and is both “unfair” and “unsustainable”. He stated that Labour would “abolish the current system, reform the employment tribunals and put in place a new system”, although no further details were provided. It has been reported that Labour will not abolish tribunal fees altogether but will introduce better means testing.
• Removing barriers for parents returning to work.  The Labour Party have pledged that they would:
  • provide 25 hours of free childcare for three and four-year-olds for all working parents.
  • require breakfast clubs and after-school clubs to be provided.
  • increase opportunities for flexible working across the public sector.
• Migrant workers.  It has been reported that the Labour Party plans to make it a criminal offence to exploit migrant workers by paying them lower wage rates and offering worse conditions than local employees receive.  In order to prove that a criminal offence had been committed, evidence would need to be provided, which demonstrated that some abuse of power had occurred and that overseas nationals were employed on significantly different terms to local employees.

Liberal Democrats

The proposals include:

• Increasing the national minimum wage for apprentices. Business Secretary Vince Cable MP announced in his keynote speech that he would present a proposal to the Low Pay Commission to increase the minimum wage for apprentices in the first year of their apprenticeship by over £1.
• Creating a new Workers’ Rights Agency. Vince Cable also announced plans for a ‘one stop shop’ for workers’ rights enforcement, which will become part of the Liberal Democrat manifesto in 2015. The new Workers’ Rights Agency would streamline the work of four existing bodies: the national minimum wage enforcement section at HM Revenue and Customs, the Working Time Directive section at the Health and Safety Executive, the Employment Agency Standards inspectorate, and the Gangmasters Licensing Authority.
• Anonymizing public sector recruitment. Party members have backed a ‘name-blank’ application form in the public sector, in an attempt to cut discrimination.
• Requiring equal pay information disclosure. Invoking the power under the Equality Act 2010 to require companies which employ more than 250 people to publish the average pay of their male and female workers.

• Granting fathers an additional four weeks’ paternity leave
• Setting a Living Wage. Establishing an independent review to consult on setting a Living Wage, which would be paid by all central government departments and executive agencies from April 2016 onwards.
• Increasing inspections of employers to check for compliance with employer legislation. Doubling the number of employer inspections, “to ensure all statutory employment legislation is being respected”.
• Increasing the National Minimum Wage. Instructing the Low Pay Commission to consider ways of increasing the National Minimum Wage and improving enforcement action.

No doubt further proposals will emerge in the coming weeks as manifestos are polished so watch this space for further developments.