What does a Conservative victory mean for employment law?

With the Tories winning the majority, what could this mean for employment law?

It was suggested that an aim of the Conservative party around employment issues is to achieve full employment in Britain, by backing British businesses, cutting red tape, lowering taxes on jobs and enterprises, getting young people into work and boosting apprenticeships.

Based on the Conservative party’s manifesto we may expect to see the following:

Wages

• An increase in the National Minimum Wage from £6.50 to £6.70 with the goal of an ongoing increase to over £8.00 an hour by the end of the decade.
• Increasing the tax free personal allowance to £12,500 so anyone earning less than £12,500 will not pay income tax. By the end of 2020, “people who work 30 hours a week on the increased National Minimum Wage will no longer pay income tax”. The Party has also pledged to pass a new law so that the personal allowance automatically rises in line with the National Minimum Wage.
• Taking tougher action on employers who do not may the National Minimum Wage by allowing inspection teams to reinvest more money raised by fines levied on employers.
• Support for the ‘Living Wage’.

Zero Hours Contracts

• The Conservative party has indicated it wants to focus on banning ‘exclusivity clauses’ in zero hours contracts. Such clauses are seen as an attempt to prevent workers from working for another employer without their employer’s consent.

Trade Unions and Industrial action

• Strike action made harder. The Conservatives suggested that they would require strike action to be mandated by a recent ballot in which there has been a minimum 40% turnout by all those entitled to vote plus a majority vote in favour.
• Repealing the ban on employers using agency workers to cover striking employees.
• Introducing legislation to ensure a transparent opt- in for union subscriptions by trade unions.
• Tightening the rules around ‘facility time’ (paid time off) for union representatives.

Paid volunteering Leave

• Large companies (employers with at least 250 employees) and the public sector will be required to make volunteering for three paid days a year a workplace entitlement.

Apprenticeships

• An extra three million apprenticeships to be created over the next five years.

Equality

• The disability employment gap to be halved by transforming policy, practice and public attitudes, although the manifesto itself does not provide any details around how this will be done.
• A ‘full, genuine gender equality’ with an aim to promote gender equality by requiring companies with more than 250 employees to publish the difference between the average pay of their male and female employees.
• New support to people with mental health problems who claim out of work benefits or are being supported by Fit for Work.
• Help to those with long-term, yet treatable conditions, such as obesity or drug or alcohol addictions, back to work and ensuring that they receive the right medical treatment.

This content is correct at time of publication