Ben Doherty

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has vowed that Labour will start to introduce a raft of new legislation affecting everything from sick pay to minimum wage and unfair dismissal within 100 days of taking power at Westminster.

Ben Doherty, partner and head of employment law at Lindsays, said: “While we do not have a great deal of detail in terms of actual policy proposals, it is clear that change is coming – and we broadly know what we can expect.

“In short, these are likely to amount to the most comprehensive changes to UK employment laws since those introduced by Tony Blair following Labour’s victory in 1997. It’s important that employers have this on their radar so that they reduce the risk of being unintentionally caught out by legal change.

“Those in Scotland, where the majority of our clients operate, also need to remember that employment law is reserved to Westminster. Any changes would apply across the United Kingdom.”

Among the pledges outlined in Labour’s Plan to Make Work Pay: Delivering A New Deal for Working People are a significant shift in “day one” rights, which employees only currently secure following two years’ service. They include the right to sick pay and paid parental leave.

While Labour’s New Deal also indicates making unfair dismissal a day one right – potentially pointing to key changes to the use of probationary terms for new starts – it stated that it would not stop employers from using probation periods “provided they have a fair reason and follow fair process”.

Mr Doherty added: “Looking to what may be to come, it would be prudent for those employers who do not currently operate probationary periods to add them to your contracts for new starts.”

Labour says its proposals, which will be subject to “a full and comprehensive consultation”, will not prevent fair dismissal, which includes dismissal for reasons of capability, conduct or redundancy, or probationary periods with fair and transparent rules and processes”.

Elsewhere, a ban on zero-hours contracts, potentially with the introduction of guaranteed minimum hours contracts, will affect many employers, as will a pledge to “make sure the minimum wage is a real living wage”. So-called “fire and rehire” is also set to be outlawed.

A proposal has also been made to establish a Fair Pay Agreement in the health and social care sector, a move which Lindsays lawyers say may be welcomed by some organisations which currently find pay negotiations frustrating when their funding is set by central government.

“The challenges that all of this could create for the likes of SMEs, charities and other employers to ensure they act properly amid a tide of change could be great, making clear legal advice more important than ever,” Mr Doherty said.