“It’s time for change” was Labour’s message in the run up to the election and “Action, not words” the message after it, so now the Labour Party is in power, what might this change all mean for UK employers?
Today, in line with its previous commitment to “hit the ground running”, the Labour government announced in the King’s Speech that it will be introducing a new Employment Rights Bill within the first 100 days that will “introduce a new deal for working people to ban exploitative practices and enhance employment rights”. It will also be introducing an Equality (Race and Disability) Bill that will seek to “enshrine in law the full right to equal pay for ethnic minorities and disabled people and to introduce mandatory ethnicity and disability pay reporting”.
In this guide we take a look at the key proposals for change that have been set out by Labour, either in its “Plan to Make Work Pay” before the election (as these will form the basis for the new legislation) or in the King’s Speech today. We also provide an update on other employment law changes that were either in the pipeline or under consideration by the previous government for a fuller picture of what might be taking place over the next six to 12 months.
