Shifts in the Workplace: A Guide to Recent Employment Changes

Keir Starmer’s Labour Party has proposed many new reforms. One of the key areas which will be affected is Employment Law, specifically intending to advocate employees’ rights.

This overhaul implementation of workers’ rights, being the biggest shake-up in decades,  has caused a massive rise in interest of employers wanting to understand all the fine details of these new policies. Solicitors in the sector are bracing for an unparalleled surge in work.

Employment Status

The UK currently functions on a three-tier system for employment status, which means people can classify as either employees, self-employed or workers; this is a framework which often fails to provide clarity for workers and businesses in regards to which category they are in specifically recently in regards to Contractors which surveyed stating half of them fear they have been subjected to blanket classification due to the overly complex status classification and rules.

What does a Labour Government mean for Employment Rights?

Labour proposes a simpler two-part framework for employment status, which clearly differentiates between workers and the genuinely self-employed, this would clarify the difference between the two statuses and the rights and obligations they hold. In addition, this would ensure all workers would be afforded the same protection against unfair dismissal.

However, this is likely to lead to an increase in Employment Tribunal claims because workers will be able to claim unfair dismissal rather than just employees. It also creates uncertainty on how people will be taxed after these reforms, where a PAYE system is currently used for employees. It is unclear what will be used once workers and employees are merged.

Family Friendly Rights

Introducing a baseline set of family-friendly rights specifically designed to allow working people to enjoy a better work-life balance that benefits their wellbeing and productivity within the workplace, which is specifically keen to improve the UK’s historically low Labour Productivity, which is almost 40% below that in the United States of America.

Currently, there is a one-year qualifying period for parental leave; Labour intends to make it a day-one right, which would mean every parent would be able to take Parental Leave immediately upon taking the job; this gives parents the right to take up to 18 weeks’ leave per child – however, it is important to note that this type of leave is usually unpaid but may cause an administrative burden for smaller departments and increase costs for employers in relation to any additional payroll for parental leave and recruitment.

This increased complexity of responsibilities an employer has, along with many reforms to frameworks regarding employment status and the potential for a large increase in Employment Tribunal claims, requires specialised experts to advise on the queries that employers have.

Our Employment Law Solicitors at Attwells provide tailored support for employers regarding any queries and needs. Along with our 5-star Client Care, we will be sure to take care of all your employment needs. Call Lloyd Clarke on 01206 239761.

Our blogs and articles are correct at the time of writing.

These have been created for marketing purposes only and should not be considered as legal advice.