With a new Labour government now officially elected, we all know that there will be legislative changes in the pipeline.
This is particularly true in the area of Employment Law, where there were several areas of interest in their manifesto that employers will need to be aware of.
New Day One Rights for Workers
There are two specific ‘day one’ rights that labour are proposing. The first, and probably most significant, is the right to claim unfair dismissal. Currently, an employee must have 2 years’ service in order to bring a claim of unfair dismissal. However, it is suggested that dismissals would still be ‘fair’ if carried out during a probationary period,  if clear and transparent rules and processes are followed though no guidance has yet been issued on what this may mean.
Secondly, flexible working would become a day one right by default, except when it is not reasonably feasible. Details are sketchy, but this could be a significant change from the current position which only provides a right to request flexible working from day one.
Proposed Changes to Statutory Sick Pay
Workers will be able to claim statutory sick pay from the first day of absence, rather than the fourth day as is currently the case.
The Right to Disconnect
Labour says it will bring in the ‘right to switch off’, allowing workers to disconnect outside of working hours and not be contacted by their employers. Details are unclear, but it would follow the lead of European countries such as Ireland and Belgium, who already have such policies in place.
Family-Friendly Rights
Another area in which Labour have pledged to make changes is to family-friendly rights. These include bereavement leave for all, ensuring that parental leave is a day one right; along with a review of parental leave in the first year of government. They have also pledged to review carer’s leave.
Other aspects that Labour have covered in their manifesto include;
Sexual harassment, whistleblowing, menopause, equality and discrimination
- strengthening protections for whistleblowers, including updating protections for women who report sexual harassment at work;
- the introduction of a Race Equality Act to ensure equal pay to Black, Asian and other ethnic minority people and strengthening protections against dual discrimination;
- introducing a new right to equal pay for disabled people;
- introduce disability and ethnicity pay gap reporting for employers with more than 250 staff;
- strengthening the legal duty for employers to take all reasonable steps to stop sexual harassment before it starts;
- making it unlawful to dismiss a woman who is pregnant for six months after her return to work from maternity leave (except in specific circumstances);
- employers with more than 250 employees will be required to produce a Menopause Action Plan;
Contracts and Wages
- introduce a flat rate minimum wage for workers of all ages and ensure that the minimum wage is a living wage that reflects the cost of living;
- ban zero hours contracts and ensure that everyone has the right to have a contract that reflects the number of hours they regularly work, based on a 12-week period;
- ensure that all workers get reasonable notice of any change in shifts or working time, with compensation that is proportionate to the notice given for any shifts cancelled or shortened;
- ending the practice of ‘fire and rehire’;
- ensure hospitality workers receive tips in full and workers decide how tips are allocated;
Trade Unions and Health & Safety
- introduce a new duty on employers to inform all new employees of their right to join a union (as part of the written statement of particulars) and to inform all staff of this on a regular basis;
- update trade union legislation by removing restrictions on trade union activity;
- allow secure and private electronic balloting;
- simplify the process of union recognition and the law around statutory recognition thresholds, removing the rule that unions must show at least 50% of workers are likely to support their claim for recognition before the process can begin, and ensuring that a union will only need a simple majority to win the final ballot on whether or not it should be recognised;
- modernise the law on blacklisting and introduce sufficient facilities time for trade union reps;
- introduce the right for trade unions to access workplaces in a regulated and responsible manner, for recruitment and organising purposes and allow unions officials to meet, represent, recruit and organise members, provided they give appropriate notice and comply with reasonable requests of the employer;
- introduce a ‘Fair Pay Agreement’ (a type of sectoral collective bargaining agreement) in the adult social care sector – they will also assess how and to what extent Fair Pay Agreements could benefit other sectors;
- modernise health & safety legislation and guidance;
 Redundancy & TUPE
- introduce an obligation to collectively consult on large-scale redundancies when employees are at risk of redundancy across the whole of a business, rather than at one workplace or local employment unit; and
- strengthen the existing set of rights and protections for workers subject to TUPE processes.
Of course, this is a new government and when these changes are likely to take place is uncertain. That said, Labour pledged to ‘kickstart’ the reform of Employment Laws within 100 days of getting into office, so we could see some significant changes being implemented fairly quickly.
How can we help?
As with any proposed changes to the law, it is best to be prepared and start reviewing employment contracts in advance.
If you would like to discuss any of the proposed legislative changes and ensure that your business is prepared, please contact our Head of Employment, Dan Wilde, who will be able to review your existing policies and contracts and advise on the best route forward.
