Employment Law Changes under Labour: Summary and Our Take
Labour won by a landslide on 4 July and says it is determined to make changes to “outdated” employment laws.
Commitments outlined in their Plan to Make Work Pay are likely to come to fruition in the coming months and years ahead. The King’s Speech went further, announcing a new Employment Rights Bill and an Equality (Race and Disability) Bill.
But how does that all affect you, whether you are managing agent employer, a property manager (or other employee of a managing agent), a member of on-site staff, or an industry supplier like Cledor?
Fortunately, Labour has said it will consult with businesses and workers before new legislation is enacted, and that is essential. Where the property management sector has concerns with proposed employment law changes, let’s hope Labour listens.
Below, we look at some of the government’s proposals and our take on some of the proposals.
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Rather than the two-year period in which employees may be dismissed without reason, unfair dismissal rights kick in from day one. The time limit to bring unfair dismissal claims will be six months (currently three months). Labour has said its proposals will not prevent employers from carrying out fair dismissals, e.g. for capability or conduct. Our concern is on behalf of residential developments, who may find it increasingly difficult to move on unsuitable workers.
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New rules will be devised to make probation periods and associated processes fairer and more transparent for employees. There are no details on this and we suspect this may become guidance rather than law, however it always makes sense to monitor performance regularly and discuss performance at regular intervals ahead of the formal probation interview.
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Zero hours contracts that are deemed to be ‘exploitative’ will be illegal. It is possible that all zero hours contracts will be illegal, or permitted only for a short period of time, and thereafter, the worker must be taken on as an employer. We await to see.
We suspect the banning of zero hours contracts will be in respect of unfair, one-sided flexibility in favour of employers. The consequence may be far fewer flexible zero hours workers and therefore much harder for personnel providers to provide ‘last minute’ staff to residential sites. We are concerned about this change and the impact on the smooth running of residential developments.
Another change will require employers to give workers reasonable notice of any shift changes or working time changes, and pay the worker proportionate compensation. This may provide another disincentive for employers to use flexible (zero hours) staff, to the detriment of all involved.
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Employees must be informed in their contract of their right to join a trade union – and reminded of this periodically. Trade union rights will be beefed up. My concern is that trade unions will hinder rather than assist. One particular union has a stranglehold on the housing association sector. Could something similar happen in private block management?
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Rather than waiting for a year of employment to pass, the right to maternity and paternity leave will start on day one.
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Although there is likely to be some small print, it will be unlawful to terminate a woman’s employment within six months of her returning from mat leave. Naturally, we support this.
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It’s likely that a bolstering of women’s rights in respect of menopause symptoms will be limited to larger firms, requiring Menopause Action Plans. For smaller firms, they will be given guidance to follow. This was the subject of a fascinating discussion at the 2024 Doyenne International Women’s Day, and educated a lot of men (and women) in the room. We fully support this.
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SSP will apply to all workers, and the three-day waiting period for SSP is to be removed. This will be an extra cost to business, but provide more financial support for workers.
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The European Union (EU) defines the right to disconnect as “a worker's right to be able to disengage from work and refrain from engaging in work-related electronic communications, such as emails or other messages, during non-work hours”. Labour has promised to follow suite, and give employees this ‘right to switch off’. Labour’s concern comes from normalised working from home, and homes becoming perpetual workplaces. Work/life balance isn’t just a buzz phrase – it’s really important. Employees need a genuine break, especially in our sector!
Conversely, property management is known for its 24/7 nature, so if employees/workers turn their phone off at the end of the working day, will customers suffer as a result? Companies will need to bolster their out of hours provision if employees are switched off. The hope, as ever, is that employers will be more flexible during working hours, and employees will reciprocate by helping out outside of their regular hours as a matter of course.
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Employers that have terminated the employment of an individual or team then rehired them on different terms (in favour of the employer) will not be permitted to do so under the government’s plans.
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New rules will be introduced to clamp down on inequal pay for women. Labour has promised a new Equality (Race and Disability) Bill that will introduce mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting for larger employers. We are 100% in support.
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Labour intends to include as part of its calculations the cost of living when setting minimum wage rates. And age banding will be removed, which Labour says is discriminatory. This may cost residential developments a little more, however we have always been advocates for higher wages for higher quality on site staff, no matter their age.
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Often used interchangeably, the terms “worker” and “employee” mean different things. In essence, an employee is someone who is hired to work a particular job, often for a set number of days and hours, e.g. 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday. A worker is likely to have a more casual and less structured relationship with their workplace. Workers’ rights may come closer to (or match) those enjoyed by employees under the government’s employment plans.
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Changes are to be made – no details as yet – we will flesh out once known.
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Labour recognises that most employers give employees time off for bereavements. However, it believes the law is outdated and ill-defined, so the government will set about introducing the right to bereavement leave, although whether this is paid or unpaid, is not yet known.
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Labour will introduce a requirement to consult a workforce before installing surveillance tech/equipment. Many residential developments have CCTV, not just for security reasons – but also to make sure night staff aren’t dozing off!
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Labour wishes to strengthen the law to ensure hospitality workers receive their tips in full and workers decide how tips should be allocated. Could the same apply to on site staff who may receive tips from residents? Should they have the right to receive tips? That’s another discussion altogether!
Cledor welcomes the government’s intention to work in close collaboration with business, but before it makes changes to employment rights, it must consult meaningfully with employers and be prepared to compromise. Reinforcing employee and worker rights could backfire in some cases, as these can have adverse impacts on employers, the knock-on effect being adverse consequences for employees with service charge payers picking up the bill.
We hope you have found this guide useful. Please reach out to us for any of your on-site personnel requirements.