The Labour party is considering a range of legal rights aimed at improving employees’ work-life balance, transparency and pay equity if it wins the next general election.
According to a raft of policy proposals seen by Labour news site LabourList, the party is considering a number of work-life balance reforms under the banner of “a new deal for working people”.
It confirmed that it would legislate on flexible working – a pledge made by deputy leader Angela Rayner in 2021 – making this the default for all workers from day one, “except where it is not reasonably feasible”.
The current government confirmed late last year that it too would remove the requirement to have 26 weeks’ service in order to qualify for flexible working – but has not as yet set a date for its introduction.
Labour said it would also ensure that workers were entitled to “basic individual rights” from their first day of employment, but did not expand on what these would be.
Labour work pledges
On pay, it would introduce rules to permit equal pay comparisons across employers and ensure employees get reasonable notice of any change in shifts and working time, with compensation where shifts are cancelled at short notice.
A key feature of these plans is to bring in “fair pay agreements” (FPAs), a pledge first aired at the Labour party Conference in 2021, beginning with the adult social care sector.
FPAs, which have already been introduced in New Zealand, are when worker representatives and employer representatives come together to establish minimum pay, terms and conditions that then become binding across a sector.
Labour would also change the remit of the Low Pay Commission to ensure that minimum wage recommendations take into account the cost of living alongside median wages and economic conditions.
A further policy development not included in the leaked policy papers could be a “right to disconnect”.
Speaking to the Financial Times this weekend, deputy party leader Angela Rayner discussed the possibility of introducing such legislation, saying that “constant emails and calls outside work should not be the norm”, and that not being able to ignore work communications was “harming work-life balance for many”.
She added that, if it came to power and enacted the policy, the party would look at how other countries had implemented such legislation.
France has had a right to disconnect in place since 2017 for employers with more than 50 staff, for example, and there has also been support in the Scottish parliament for such a right.
Research by Ipsos last year found that six in 10 UK workers would support a right to disconnect law, with 67% admitting the frequently received work-related communications outside of working hours.
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The policies will now be debated in the national policy forum, which is made up of Labour members, trade unions and other affiliates, in July. These must then be approved at the party conference in October, with a manifesto drawn up thereafter.
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