www.tuc.org.uk

Campaigning for employment rights

Hannah ReedSenior Employment Rights

Officer

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The Government’s aim

• Making it easier for employers to sack people

• Making it harder for workers to enforce their rights

• Displacement of collective rights by individual rights

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• Not based on the evidence

• Not based on genuine consultation

• Based on ‘perception’ rather than fact

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Myths not fact

• Myth: employment rights stifle growth • Fact: UK has one of the lightest regulated

labour markets in the world• Fact: Economic research reveals no

correlation between employment protection and labour market performance

• Fact: OECD: no one route to full employment

• Fact: Less regulated economies have higher inequality, more in-work poverty; poorer health outcomes

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Myths not fact

• Myth: employment rights deter employers from recruiting more staff

• Fact: BIS research: fewer than 6% of SMEs think regulation restricts growth

• Fact: BIS research: unfair dismissal rights not among top ten of employers’ employment rights concerns

• Fact: Job insecurity reduces consumer confidence; suppresses demand

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We’d like to know your views but …

• Red Tape challenge

• Tilting the scales• Twitter-sphere• Legislation

without consultation

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The sackers’ charter

• Extending qualifying period for unfair dismissal (April 2012)– More than 3 million people lose out– Young and BME particularly

affected• Reducing compensation in UD cases

– Legislation without consultation– Impact on older workers, disabled

workers, public sector workers

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Negotiated settlements?

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Beecroft lite lawyers’ charter?

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‘Trading rights for shares’

• Consultation document published 18 Oct

• Closes 8 November

• Growth and Infrastructure Bill published 18 Oct

• Inadequate equality assessment

• No impact assessment published

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‘Trading rights for shares’

• Unfair dismissal– Except automatic UD; discrimination

• Statutory redundancy Pay – No ability to make a claim from

Redundancy Payments Office • Request time to train (only 250 + employees) • Right to request to work flexibly - except

parental leave returners • Longer notice periods (8 to 16 weeks) to

return early from maternity leave

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‘Trading shares for rights’

• Rights traded for shares valued at £2,000 - £50,000

• No guaranteed voting rights, dividends or assets

• Forfeited at end of employment

• Independent valuation?

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‘Trading rights for shares’

• Creating new employment status

• Contracting out of rights in return for money

• Free choice?– Safeguard

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Employer response

• CBI: niche idea• CIPD: undermine morale and productivity

• Justin King, Sainsbury:“not what we should be doing” and could worsen the levels of trust between the public and businesses. “What do you think the population at large will think of businesses that want to trade employment rights for money?”

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Costs for business

• Not practical

• Watering down equity

• Complex administration

• Costs in voluntary exits

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Priced out of justice: Fees for ETs

• Remission scheme limited - many workers on NMW wages will have to pay fees

• For some ET fees = significant proportion / exceed the value of their claim

* Seta Findings 2008; ** ET & EAT Stats 2011-12

Type of claim Median award

Total fee if claim goes to hearing

Wages Act £850* £390

Unfair dismissal £4,560** £1,200

Race discrimination £5,256**

8% success rate

£1,200

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Collective redundancy & TUPE rights

• Redundancy consultation to be reduced from 90 days to 45 / 30 days

• TUPE review:– Making it cheaper and easier to

outsource / privatise services– Erosion of pay and conditions post

transfer– Better information & consultation

rights for TUs

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Restricting the right to strike

• Voting thresholds: majority yes vote + 40% or 50% of members voting

• Limits on strike in essential services– Maintaining minimum level of

services

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Countering the attacks

• TUC campaign: Employee rights stop employment wrongs

• Agency worker rights

• Defending the right to strike in the European Court for Human Rights

• Building stronger unions in UK workplaces