The Labour Party published its manifesto yesterday which comprises of many proposed changes to UK employment legislation and some that would have a very significant impact on the staffing industry. The manifesto pledges a ‘Fair Deal at Work’ that includes investing in enforcement through a new Ministry of Labour and a promise to protect the rights of all workers.

The general election will be held on 8 June. The Conservative party is due to publish its manifesto this week.

The Labour Manifesto, titled “For the Many, Not the Few”, pledges that if elected, Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Government will clamp down on ‘bogus self-employment’ by banning umbrella companies.

The Manifesto lists an additional six pledges for self-employment including shifting the burden of proof so that the law assumes a worker is an employee unless the employer can prove otherwise; Imposing punitive fines on employers not meeting their responsibilities; Involving trade unions in enforcement; Giving the Ministry of Labour the resources to enforce all workers’ rights; Giving employment agencies and end-users joint responsibility for ensuring that the rights of agency workers are enforced; and Rolling out sectoral collective bargaining and strengthening trade union rights.

Furthermore, the Manifesto stated: “Labour recognises that the law often struggles to keep up with the ever-changing new forms of employment and work, so we will set up a dedicated commission to modernise the law around employment status. New statutory definitions of employment status would reduce the need for litigation and improve compliance.”

Julia Kermode, Chief Executive of the Freelancer & Contractor Services Association (FCSA), whose members provide umbrella services and accountancy services to freelancers and contractors, commented on the Labour’s plan to ban umbrella companies:

“Corbyn and others clearly don’t understand how umbrella works,” Kermode said. “Umbrellas allow contractors to be able to work independently for a number of end-hirers and provide contractors with full employment rights, all statutory benefits including holiday pay, maternity pay, paternity pay, sickness pay, pensions, redundancy pay and adoption pay.” 

“It would be foolhardy to ban umbrellas unilaterally considering that this sector is worth in excess of £3 billion in tax and national insurance contributions to the Exchequer annually.  In an unregulated industry we acknowledge that there is poor practice within the sector which is why FCSA is committed to raising standards.  Rather than a wholesale ban, which only demonstrates a lack of thought, consideration and understanding on their part we would look to work together with Labour policymakers on initiatives that promote compliance and truly support workers that choose to work through umbrellas.”

The manifesto also pledges to scrap the changes brought in by the Conservatives in 2014 to TUPE which they claim weakened the protections for workers transferring between contactors. They also plan to abolish the so-called Swedish Derogation which enables staffing firms to bypass the obligations of the Agency Workers Regulations by employing agency workers directly.

A Labour Government would bring in a 20-point plan for security and equality at work. Among the key points that will affect employers and employees include:

1. Give all workers equal rights from day one, whether part-time or full-time, temporary or permanent. This would remove the exemption the UK enjoys from the EU Agency Worker Directive whereby temporary agency workers receive equal treatment after a qualifying period of 12 weeks.
2. Ban zero hours contracts so that every worker gets a guaranteed number of hours each week.
3. Legislate to ensure that any employer wishing to recruit labour from abroad does not undercut workers at home.
4. Repeal the Trade Union Act and roll out sectoral collective bargaining.
5. Guarantee trade unions a right to access workplaces, so that unions can speak to members and potential members.
6. Propose four new public holidays.
7. Raise the Minimum Wage to the level of the Living Wage (expected to be at least £10 per hour by 2020) for all workers aged 18 or over.
8. End the Public Sector Pay Cap – “because public sector workers deserve a pay rise after years of falling wages”.
9. Amend the takeover code to ensure every takeover proposal has a clear plan in place to protect workers and pensioners .

10.  Roll out maximum pay ratios of 20:1 in the public sector and in companies bidding for public contracts – “because it cannot be right that wages at the top keep rising while everyone else’s stagnates”.

11.  Ban unpaid internships. Labour states that it’s not fair for some to get a leg up when others can’t afford to.

12.  Enforce all workers’ rights to trade union representation at work.

13.  Abolish employment tribunal fees so that people have access to justice.

14.  Double paid paternity leave to four weeks and increase paternity pay.

15.  Strengthen protections for women against unfair redundancy.

16.  Hold a public inquiry into blacklisting.

17.  Give equalities reps statutory rights.

18.  Reinstate protection against third party harassment.

19.  Use public spending power to drive up standards, including only awarding public contracts to companies which recognise trade unions.

20.   Introduce a civil enforcement system to ensure compliance with gender pay auditing – so that all workers have fair access to employment and promotion opportunities and are treated fairly at work.

“Workers in Britain are among the easiest and cheapest to make redundant, meaning when multinational companies are taking decisions to downsize that British workers are at a disadvantage,” the Manifesto stated.  “We will consult with trade unions and industry on reviewing redundancy arrangements to bring workers in Britain more into line with their European counterparts.”