The election of Liz Truss as Prime Minister paves the way for new policy announcements in the coming weeks, reflecting a full in-tray. Will those changes include changes to employment law? In our briefing below, we review recent commitments made by the new Prime Minister in relation to the workplace.

Diversity and inclusion

In December 2020, as Minister for Women and Equalities, Liz Truss delivered a speech which outlined a “new approach to equality” in the UK. The change involved a move away from focusing on “people with a single protected characteristic” (sex, race, sexual orientation etc), to prioritising fair treatment for all, based on transparency and data, including a new evidence-based approach to address geographical inequality and barriers to social mobility. It remains to be seen whether this approach is taken forward in her new role. If it is, employers should expect a broader focus to government diversity policy (while not excluding protected characteristics) which is tied to evidence-based outcomes.

IR35: off-payroll working

Liz Truss has said that she would review how the off-payroll working rules (or IR35) are working. These rules are designed to ensure that individuals who work in a similar way to employees, such as some contractors, consultants and freelancers, pay broadly the same income tax and national insurance contributions as employees. A reformed set of rules were extended to the private sector from 6 April 2021. However, the new Prime Minister has...

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