(Bloomberg) -- Keir Starmer’s government is diluting its pre-election promise to protect UK workers from workplace surveillance, the latest example of how Labour’s plans for a wide-ranging overhaul of employment rights are not surviving the transition from opposition party to power.
Labour had promised to introduce “at a minimum” a requirement for employers to consult with trade unions or elected staff representatives before introducing any surveillance technologies, as part of its “New Deal for Working People.” But the promises on surveillance will no longer be included in the Employment Rights Bill due to be published next month, according to people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity to discuss private government business.
Instead, the government is looking for other ways it could introduce measures around surveillance, one of the people said, for example via employment codes of practice. While Labour’s original plan — to use the law to restrict surveillance technologies such as GPS tracking, webcam and click-monitoring — could work for office environments, it would cause problems for businesses like courier services that need to track deliveries, another person said.
Though it’s not unusual for a new government to refine its plans, the problem facing Labour is that it won the July general election on a change platform after 14 years of Conservative-led governments. Starmer talked repeatedly about a new relationship between workers, companies and government that would deliver economic growth and better, higher-paying jobs, and while the plan faced skepticism, the balancing act was enough to deliver a landslide victory.
In government, though, balancing the different interests has proved more challenging, and Starmer has faced criticism from trade unions and members of his Labour Party over fears that business demands would win out over real employment reform. Bloomberg reported a planned “right to switch off” would be introduced as codes of practice for different sectors, rather than enshrining a worker’s right to disconnect out-of-hours in law as initially promised.
Officials are trying to finish the Employment Rights Bill in time to meet Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner’s pledge to introduce the legislation in the first 100 days of a Labour government, and ministers have been holding breakfast meetings with businesses and trade unions to consult on the proposals.
Two meetings, one on unfair dismissal policy and another on ending so-called zero-hours contracts, will be held on Wednesday.
But people familiar with the matter expect the final package to take months to finalize even after the legislation is introduced, because consultation with business and trade unions will continue.
The talks on unfair dismissal policy — to be led by civil servants — will be attended by business lobby groups including the Confederation of British Industry, the Federation of Small Businesses and the British Chambers of Commerce, as well as trade unions including the TUC, Unite and Unison.
The government has pledged to make basic protection against unfair dismissal a day one right for all employees, rather than current rules that can mean some staff have to wait two years. Following concerns from businesses, though, Labour said before the general election that employers will still be able to operate probationary periods. The legislation is expected to limit probation periods to six months, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The other meeting will focus on proposals to limit zero-hours contracts. Labour is planning to oblige employers to offer workers a contract containing the hours they regularly work, based on a reference period of the previous 12 weeks. Some businesses, particularly in the hospitality sector, have been pushing for that reference period to be extended to six months.
--With assistance from Sabah Meddings.
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