Workers’ rights: How to turn manifesto promises into tangible results

The Labour manifesto promised the “biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation”, and on Thursday the government tabled the Employment Rights Bill 2024. ⁸ https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3737/publications  The bill includes no fewer than 28 individual policies such as a ban on zero-hours contracts, a raft of ‘Day one’ rights for workers and the creation of a 'single enforcement body’ – the Fair Work Agency – to strengthen enforcement of workplace rights. Together these will, the government says, reshape workplace relations to improve incomes and the quality of work across Britain.

The last Labour government transformed the labour market with the National Minimum Wage

In 1997, New Labour wasted no time delivering on one of its big election promises: the National Minimum Wage (NMW). It was bold, potentially risky, but the party had done its homework. Years of groundwork in opposition helped it to develop a robust case for change by repositioning the issue as part of a wider attack on poverty, and as a measure to improve economic performance and social justice. This included working with others – civil society, unions, businesses and other tiers of government – to build the case for change and dispel concerns over job losses. 

Serious effort went into ironing out technical issues and stress-testing proposals with those key to making it work. A standout move was setting up the Low Pay Commission (LPC), bringing employers, worker representatives and three neutral experts – including an independent chair – together to decide what the first minimum wage should be. This both depoliticised the issue and allowed for an incremental approach that could be adapted in the light of emerging evidence about real-world impacts.

Implementation, however, took time. Setting up the LPC and appointing a chair (which sparked plenty of internal debate) along with the hefty research effort for the Commission's first report, meant the first national minimum wage, set at £3.60 an hour, didn’t come into force until April 1999. But this careful, measured approach paid off. Developing a strong analytic base and starting modestly was key not just to fulfilling the manifesto pledge but to creating a long-lasting consensus that survived changes in administration and made it an established part of the UK labour market. 

This government is aiming to recreate the NMW’s ‘pro-business, pro-worker’ formula

The Starmer government has repeatedly promised to work closely with both trade unions and business to push through its broad reform agenda. Starmer’s deputy PM, Angela Rayner, and Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, have hosted senior representatives from trade unions and business organisations to discuss the Plan to Make Work Pay. ¹¹ https://www.gov.uk/government/news/business-leaders-and-unions-to-work-hand-in-hand-to-deliver-new-plans-to-make-work-pay  The Employment Rights Bill is expected to be the first step in a two-year journey towards implementation, leaving plenty of time for consultation.

But unlike the targeted approach taken with the NMW, the 2024 bill is set to bring sweeping changes to workplace relations. While popular with large parts of the electorate, industry leaders have voiced concerns that the scale and speed of the reforms could hit small businesses hardest. ¹² https://www.ft.com/content/62f09d41-aa86-411d-885c-11590a9a92c3  Many businesses acknowledge the need for better working conditions, but some worry that the sheer number of new regulations could raise hiring risks and costs. 

If government cannot work with business to address these concerns, as done so successfully after 1997, these changes risk being short-lived and vulnerable to reversal by future governments. And for a more recent warning on this front Rayner and Reynolds might look to Jacinda Ardern’s Labour government in New Zealand, which faced similar challenges that led to many of its bold policies around workers’ rights failing to gain business backing and being quickly undone when the political tide turned.

Building business support, and clarifying the bill’s provisions, will now be key

While the bill is ambitious, it falls short on some of the bolder promises initially made. Rayner’s much championed “right to switch off” for example may end up as guidance, not law. Other areas of the reforms are unclear, such as how a potential Adult Social Care Negotiating Body – which the bill allows the creation of – fits with the model of a Fair Pay Agreement in the same sector also promised in the manifesto. 

But these should be seen as opportunities, not setbacks. By using the time to resolve issues, address business concerns and potentially even consider a phased roll out of the reforms to assess impacts on the labour market (as was the case with the NMW), Labour can build consensus, prevent employer pushback, and ensure reforms stick. Rayner and Reynolds would be smart to spend the next two years working closely with industry, stress-testing proposals, and strengthening the case for change – as their New Labour predecessors did. This is key to minimising opposition and securing long-term success.