The CIPD has unveiled a manifesto for good work, which calls on the next UK government to develop a long-term workforce strategy.
The HR body’s manifesto, published in advance of the main party conferences, argues that the UK needs a joined-up workforce strategy covering three themes – skilled work, healthy work and fair work – in order to tackle stagnating productivity, rising skills shortages, an ageing working population and the UK’s transition to net zero.
‘Good’ work
‘Good work agreements’ needed to tackle low pay and poor conditions
As well as government policy reforms, the manifesto argues that organisations and people will need to adopt new ways of working, including is adapting to or optimising the use of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, as well focus on improving job quality to support employee wellbeing, productivity and labour market participation.
CIPD chief executive Peter Cheese said: “It’s essential the next UK government sets out a bolder, long-term vision for economic growth to raise job quality, innovation and productivity across all sectors. Achieving this requires an inclusive industrial strategy for growth, and a strategy for jobs and good work, together with skills support and investment in the UK workforce to meet the opportunities and demands for the future.
“We must also fundamentally reform our labour market enforcement system so that it can genuinely protect the health and rights of workers and play a stronger role in helping raise overall employment standards and the wellbeing of our workforce. Supporting the development of more flexible and inclusive working practices across the economy will help improve fairness of opportunity and labour market participation for everyone.”
Under the skills core theme, the CIPD’s manifesto for good work recommends that the government:
- complements its plans to transform the UK into a science and technology “superpower” with a broader focus on improving job quality and productivity across all sectors of the economy, via a range of policy areas from digital adoption to labour market regulation
- establishes a new industrial strategy council with representatives from the government, employers and professional bodies, with a strong focus on improving job quality
- sets out a long term strategy for the UK’s skills system to ensure it can deliver the range of technical and transferrable skills employers need, particularly as the use of AI grows
- establishes a high-quality, locally delivered business support service to
boost employer investment in skills and people management capability, while
supporting digital adoption and green transition - improves the quality of careers information and guidance for all workers
- reforms the apprenticeship levy into a more flexible skills levy
- creates more high-quality vocational training opportunities to tackle technical skills shortages
- ensures the immigration system is flexible and can address skills shortages.
To develop healthy work it suggests that policy-makers:
- create a well-resourced single enforcement body focused on employer compliance with the law
- ensure the Health and Safety Executive has the resources to encourage employers to meet their existing legal duty to prevent and manage stress at work
- improve employment rights for vulnerable workers and abolish ‘worker’ status, which would align status for both tax and employment purposes at the same time
- develop locally delivered access to occupational health provision for employers, which is free for SMEs
- reform statutory sick pay, by removing the lower earnings threshold and raising the rate to the equivalent of the national living wage, to be paid from day one of absence and making it more flexible to support phased returns to work
- establish an AI taskforce
- nominate a director of work and health to work with employers and across government departments to improve the recruitment, retention and progression of people with disabilities and long-term health conditions.
To make work fairer it recommends that the government:
- considers bringing responsibility for enforcing workers’ rights under the Equality Act 2010 within the remit of a properly resourced single enforcement body to help tackle discrimination
- promotes and support flexible working, including considering a challenge fund to support employers to trial flexible working in non-office and frontline roles
- increase statutory paternity leave to six weeks at or near full pay
- review and reform shared parental leave
- enhance childcare support for working parents
- require employers to include pay and pension information in job adverts
- introduce more reporting requirements for employers, including mandatory action plans for gender pay gap reporting and mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting.
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