UK Labour's 'New Deal for Working People'

On 13 June the UK Labour Party issued its election manifesto. It confirmed some (mainly still vague) proposals about new legislation to deal with exploitative zero hours arrangements, tax avoidance and new employment protection from day one of employment. Our earlier Insight covered many of the broad policy proposals.

But, however vague the proposals seem,  Labour have said that they will introduce specific new legislation (that is, put a detailed bill before Parliament) in many key areas within one hundred days of the election (effectively by Friday 11 October), and so something is on its way if Labour is elected.

This briefing links you to five reports about different aspects of Labour's proposals. The first four will focus on the things that will relatively quickly affect users of contingent working arrangements and the intermediaries who facilitate the arrangements (such as staffing companies, consultancies, gig platforms and outsourcing companies). The fifth looks at the impact of measures that may take longer to come into force such as single worker status, with all workers (including agency workers) potentially getting full employment rights, and the impact of Labour's proposals on shareholders and investors.

All of this assumes, as polling suggests, that Labour will win the UK election on 4 July.

Which of the Labour proposals may affect staffing companies and platforms relatively quickly?

We believe those "early" measures will include rights for workers (including agency workers and platform workers) to predictable hours, a further crackdown on "dodgy" umbrella arrangements and increased IR35 enforcement, a more powerful enforcement body and some new "day one" rights for workers including agency workers.

Our series of reports

Report one: the right to predictable hours

Report two: further crackdown on 'dodgy' umbrella arrangements and increased IR35 enforcement

Report three: the impact of a more powerful enforcement body on platforms and what wider powers it might be given

Report four: the impact of 'day one' rights for workers including agency workers – an end to turn on/turn off resource?

Report five: the impact of measures that may take longer to come into force such as the single worker status, and the impact of Labour's plans on investors and shareholders