Government plans to improve UK workers’ rights ‘lack crucial details’, says top thinktank

The Labour government’s highly publicised plans to improve workers’ rights and end years of stagnating wages, insecure jobs and in-work poverty are full of ambiguities and lack crucial detail, a leading thinktank on the future of work has concluded.

A report by the Autonomy Institute, which promotes a fairer and more democratic economy, says the new deal for working people has the potential to move the UK’s labour market on from a “lost decade” of increasing exploitation, while at the same time playing a key role in Keir Starmer’s mission to drive up economic growth.

But it says “questions remain over many crucial details of the programme” and that “it will need to go further if it wishes to truly represent a meaningful agenda for reform”.

It insists that all the core commitments that Labour made in the run-up to the general election must be delivered “in full without any more rollbacks” when the employment right’s bill is published later this year.

Doubts were expressed about Labour’s commitment to full delivery when it emerged earlier this year that the party had downgraded a pledge to put an end to all zero-hours contracts, and would instead ban only “exploitative” elements of the contracts.

The institute also says Labour appears to have backtracked on a commitment to introduce a single “worker” status in order to end “bogus self-employment”, which allows employers to save on costs such as national insurance payments and paid holidays.

It calls for more details on the setting up of a national care service to deliver a better deal for care workers.

The report, published before the TUC’s annual meeting next month and the party conference season, echoes the fears of many groups representing working people and the main unions, that Labour may renege on some of its promises after being heavily lobbied by business leaders fearful that its agenda will increase employment costs.

The report includes new polling by Survation of 2,074 adults that shows only 24% of people believe all Labour’s proposals will be implemented, while 76% think some of them will be introduced.

Raising the minimum wage to a real living wage (£12 an hour outside London and £13.15 inside the capital) was ranked as the best element of the overall Labour package by 39% of respondents. Tackling insecure contracts was ranked top by 21% of those polled, while the “right to switch off” and not be contacted by employers out of work hours was the No 1 priority for 20%.

Among plans not included in Labour’s proposals, raising statutory sick pay to levels comparable with other similar nations and shortening the working week to 32 hours with no loss of pay were the most popular ideas.

The institute said that the way in which some of Labour’s proposals on increasing the rights of workers had been drawn up appeared to give too much power to employers to decide the terms and so risked diluting the potential benefits to employees.

To ensure workers gain from Labour’s “right to switch off” policy, the institute suggested imitating France and Portugal, where fines have been handed out to employers for going against legislation to protect workers from being contacted outside working hours.

The Autonomy Institute also noted that popular and much needed policies on a shorter working week were absent, while detail on the levels of statutory sick pay were badly needed. It wants to see more detail in the employment right’s bill, which the government has said will be introduced in its first 100 days in office.

Will Stronge, director of research at the Autonomy Institute, said: “Ambiguities in some of Labour’s proposals to improve workers’ rights leave uncertainty over the scope or effectiveness of the programme as a whole.”

A real opportunity to deliver improvement for working people existed, he said but added: “To ensure workers benefit, the new deal for working people must be delivered in full and without any more rollbacks when the employment right’s bill is published later this year.”

A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said: “Our plan to Make Work Pay sets out a significant and ambitious agenda to ensure workplace rights are fit for a modern economy, empower working people and deliver economic growth. This is a core part of this government’s mission to grow the economy and raise living standards across the country.

“Our imminent employment rights bill will also deliver the biggest upgrade to rights at work for a generation and is a vital step in the delivery of the Make Work Pay plan. Work is also underway to identify ways to swiftly deliver measures through other mechanisms.”