A new Prime Minister, a new world of work?
By 5 September 2022, we will have a new Prime Minister. Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak have signalled a different approach to running the country compared to their predecessors. But what do we know about the candidates’ pledges, and are they likely to change the world of work?
While any promises made during a campaign should be taken with a pinch of salt, a review of what the candidates have said may give an indication as to how their policies may affect peoples’ jobs and livelihoods.
Liz Truss
Ms Truss’ campaign has focused on cutting taxes and regulations.
This could particularly affect those working in the public sector if tax revenues cannot match spending, which may lead to further cuts in public services, and job losses.
The Truss campaign has promised a “red tape bonfire”, with a view to reviewing all EU law which has been retained in the UK statute books by the end of 2023[1]. The aim would be to diverge from EU law and seek to scrap those laws which are seen to be holding back business. While this is a broad statement, this could theoretically impact the Equality Act 2010. The Act has broadly the same goals as the four major EU Equal Treatment Directives, which are mirrored and implemented by the 2010 Act. Holiday pay and working time laws may well be targets for any review. Any removal of these protections could remove legal remedies presently open to workers and employees in the UK.
Rishi Sunak
Mr Sunak has vowed to “run the economy like Thatcher”[2]. While this is a fairly broad statement, this could be seen as a general indication of an approach to deregulation, and we might not expect too much in the way of added layers of protections for workers. There has also been recent suggestion that he would look to review the Equality Act.[3]
Mr Sunak has also indicated that public sector pay deals should be decided by independent pay review bodies.[4] The mechanism for this has not been explored, and there has been no elaboration the role of trade unions in any new mechanism.
What can we expect?
Politics is unpredictable, and campaigning is different to governance. UK governments in the last decade have made few inroads or significant steps in terms of industrial policy. The Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices[5] was published in 2017 and made recommendations as to industrial policy and how to regulate the modern world of work. A new Employment Bill has been mooted.
Measures included in the proposed Bill such as making flexible working the default option – even more important following the Pandemic – and strengthening protections for pregnant employees would be welcome. Other measures to combat inequality in the workplace, such as strengthening gender pay gap reporting provisions - or extending these to other characteristics such as race or disability – are nowhere to be seen. The government does not appear committed to introducing these valuable protections any time soon.[6]
In February 2022, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, in response to a question as to what steps were being taken to introduce a new Employment Bill, stated: “We will bring forward reforms to our employment framework when Parliamentary time allows it.”[7]
It looks unlikely that the future Prime Minster will be dedicating much time to a wholesale reset of the world of work, and any changes are likely to be incidental to other policy decisions. New employment protections are unlikely to be introduced any time soon, but only time will tell.
Written by Tom Moore, Solicitor and Kulsum Gulamhusein, Legal Intern
[1] Liz Truss vows to review all EU law on British statute | Financial Times (ft.com)
[2] Sunak vows to run economy like Thatcher as Tory leadership down to eight candidates - LBC
[3] Tory leadership race: Rishi Sunak vows to stop 'woke nonsense and left-wing agitators' in latest pledge | Politics News | Sky News
[4] Conservative leadership: Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak policy guide - BBC News
[5] Good work: the Taylor review of modern working practices (publishing.service.gov.uk)
[6] https://www.ft.com/content/5d7d164b-71c0-47e9-ba3c-350d07317e89
[7] Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament