Labour’s new deal is a solid package that will deliver not just higher productivity but a healthier workforce
The UK lingers far below the OECD average when it comes to employment protection. Research by the Centre for Business Research at the University of Cambridge highlights that UK labour laws are significantly less protective than in most other wealthy nations, and that the gap has got worse since 2010.
This has huge costs for millions of British employees who are forced to suffer the indignity of insecure work with no or very low sick pay, and very limited rights. So the fact that Labour has met its manifesto promise to set out a comprehensive package of legislation to improve worker rights within its first 100 days is welcome indeed.
The proposals expand employee rights in several key areas. Workers would qualify for protections against unfair dismissal from their first day at work, rather than from two years in, although there will be a statutory probation period, most likely for a maximum of nine months, during which employers will now have to identify reasons for dismissal and operate a fair process.
All workers would be entitled to statutory sick pay from the first day they are sick, instead of the fourth day – and this will be extended to low-paid workers currently excluded from SSP. Parental leave rights will be extended to fathers from the first day of employment.
People employed on zero- or low-hours contracts will be entitled to move to a contract that...
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