Following our alerts on the key themes for employers coming out of the general election (see here and here), the manifestos are out and with more and more promises and pledges being made see our “by party” highlights for employers below.
Conservatives
We will
![Quote u002D]( "Quote u002D")
We will be
![Quote u002D]( "Quote u002D")
|
In addition:
- Look to increase the National Minimum Wage (“NMW”) (to over £8 an hour by 2020) and support the Living Wage.
- Stop the abuse of zero hours contracts with measures including a ban on exclusivity.
- Increase free childcare for working parents to 30 hours per week for 3 to 4 year olds.
- Reform strike laws including requiring a 50% majority for strike action, repealing the restriction on using agency workers to cover strikes and time limit the mandate of each ballot.
- Introduce a British Bill of Rights and make our Supreme Court the “ultimate arbiter of human rights matters” in the UK.
- As part of the “big society”, require public sector employers and companies with 250 or more employees to allow individuals 3 paid days off a year to undertake voluntary work.
|
A link to the Conservative manifesto is here.
Green
We will
![Quote u002D]( "Quote u002D")
![Quote u002D]( "Quote u002D")
|
In addition:
- Make the NMW a living wage for all (increasing it to £10 per hour) by 2020.
- Introducing a maximum 10:1 pay ratio between the top and bottom pay in every organisation.
- Reduce Employment Tribunal fees.
- Support 40% female representation on all boards and elect employee representatives to the boards of medium and large companies.
- Support a European Union referendum.
- Introduce a maximum 35 hour working week.
|
A link to the Green manifesto is here.
Labour
We will
![Quote u002D]( "Quote u002D")
![Quote u002D]( "Quote u002D")
|
In addition:
- Increase the NMW (to £8 an hour by 2019) and support the Living Wage through Government procurement, tax breaks and a disclosure requirement on listed companies.
- Stop the abuse of zero hours contracts with measures including a ban on exclusivity and a right for a worker to be offered a fixed hours contract after 12 weeks of regular working.
- Extend paternity leave to 4 weeks, increase paternity pay to at least £260 a week, consult on allowing grandparents to share unpaid parental leave and increase free childcare for working parents from 15 to 25 hours per week for 3 to 4 year olds. Strengthen the law on maternity discrimination.
- Review how workplace information and consultation can be made more widespread and review the TUPE regulations.
- Protect against the abuse of agency workers, including changes to the Agency Workers Regulations.
|
A link to the Labour manifesto is here.
Liberal Democrats
We will
![Quote u002D]( "Quote u002D")
![Quote u002D]( "Quote u002D")
|
In addition:
- Consider ways to increase the NMW and increase the tax free personal allowance to essentially make the NMW tax free. Support the living wage by requiring large companies to disclose the numbers of employees receiving less than the living wage by 2020.
- Review the Employment Tribunal system with a view to lowering the fees.
- Stop the abuse of zero hours contracts with measures including a ban on exclusivity and consult on a right for a worker to be offered a fixed hours contract after a period of regular working.
- Encourage more women, black, Asian and minority ethnic diversity on boards and tackle the gender and black, Asian and minority ethnic pay gap. Outlaw caste discrimination.
- Allow online ballots for strikes and union leadership elections.
|
A link to the Liberal Democrat manifesto is here.
Plaid Cymru
We will call for
![Quote u002D]( "Quote u002D")
![Quote u002D]( "Quote u002D")
|
In addition:
- Raise the NMW to the living wage by 2020.
- Take measures to limit executive pay.
- End “exploitative” zero hours contracts.
- Reduce Employment Tribunal fees.
- Elect employee representatives to the boards of medium and large companies.
|
A link to the Plaid Cymru manifesto is here.
SNP
We will
![Quote u002D]( "Quote u002D")
![Quote u002D]( "Quote u002D")
|
In addition:
- Increase the NMW to £8.70 by 2020 and promote the living wage.
- Will end “exploitative” zero hours contracts.
- Support 50% female representation on public boards by 2020.
|
A link to the SNP manifesto is here.
UKIP
We will ensure that
![Quote u002D]( "Quote u002D")
We will
![Quote u002D]( "Quote u002D")
|
In addition:
- Raise the tax free personal allowance to essentially make the NMW tax free.
- Stop the abuse of zero hours contracts with measures including a ban on exclusivity and a code of conduct requiring employers to offer a permanent contract following a period of regular hours and providing for minimum notice of a requirement to work.
- Repeal the Agency Worker Regulations.
- Leave the European Union but it will seek to incorporate EU derived rights into UK law with amendments.
- Introduce a British Bill of Rights and withdraw from the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights.
|
A link to the UKIP manifesto is here.
|
Please note this is not intended to be a comprehensive guide to the parties’ election manifestos and promises. For information on all the policies the BBC have produced a useful guide here. If you would like more information please do not hesitate to contact your usual OC Contact.
|
give you a say over whether we should stay in or leave the EU, with an in-out referendum by the end of 2017″.
raising the tax-free Personal Allowance so that those working 30 hours on the Minimum Wage pay no Income Tax at all”.
address rising insecurity in our labour market, by banning exploitative zero-hours contracts and scrapping the Government’s ‘shares-for-rights’ scheme”.
ensure proper access to justice in the workplace by abolishing the Government’s employment tribunal fee system”.
encourage employers to provide more flexible working, expanding Shared Parental Leave with an additional “use it or lose it” month to encourage fathers to take time off with young children. While changes to parental leave should be introduced slowly to give business time to adjust, our ambition is to see Paternity and Shared Parental Leave become a “day one” right”.
commit to an ambitious goal of 20 hours’ free childcare a week for all parents with children aged from two to four years, and all working parents from the end of paid parental leave (nine months) to two years”.
the jobs of British people – and the jobs of the five million Europeans who work here – are not dependent on EU membership and will be safe when we leave the EU.”
allow British businesses to choose to employ British citizens first”.
phase in a 35-hour week. Apart from improving the quality of our lives, this would combat unemployment by sharing available work out more equitably”.
reduce Employment Tribunal fees so that tribunals are accessible to workers”.
increase the minimum wage to £8.70 per hour by 2020 and the expansion of the Scottish Government’s Living Wage will ensure more parents – women in particular – get a fair day’s pay”.
deliver a further boost for childcare from 16 to 30 hours per week by the end of the next Scottish Parliament”.
supervisory boards of major companies who employ more than 500 staff [to] involve elected employees to ensure scrutiny of the management in the interests of the company as a whole”.
a “fair play” scheme [to] be introduced to link the pay of everybody within a company to prevent spiralling executive pay whilst other staff receive no pay”.
