Campaigning for employment rights

1. Campaigning for employment rights Hannah Reed Senior Employment Rights Officer

2. 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

3. Not based on the evidence • Not based on genuine consultation • Based on ‘perception’ rather than fact

4. 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

5. 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

6. We’d like to know your views but … • Red Tape challenge • Tilting the scales • Twitter-sphere • Legislation without consultation

7. 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

8. Negotiated settlements?

9. Beecroft lite  lawyers’ charter?

10. ‘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

11. ‘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

12. ‘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?

13. ‘Trading rights for shares’ • Creating new employment status • Contracting out of rights in return for money • Free choice? • Safeguard

14. 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?”

15. Costs for business • Not practical • Watering down equity • Complex administration • Costs in voluntary exits

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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