Collective employee relations
During the state opening of Parliament, the Government trailed its Employment Rights Bill, which will make wide-ranging and radical changes to employment law in the coming years. In advance of the publication of the full text of the Employment Rights Bill, what do HR professionals need to know about what is in store for them?
With a general election confirmed for 4 July 2024, senior legal editor Fiona Cuming looks at two key areas where Labour's employment law proposals, if implemented, would transform the face of employment law in the UK and have significant implications for employers.
In July 2023, the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 came into force. This legislation gives the Government the power to make regulations to introduce minimum service levels (MSLs) where strikes take place in "relevant services". To date, MSL regulations are in place for passenger rail, ambulance, border control, and fire and rescue services, with regulations awaited for key hospital, education and nuclear decommissioning and radioactive waste management services.
The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill is the Government's response to the widespread industrial action recently seen across public services, including transport, schools and the NHS. But the legislation is fraught with problems - not least because it skips over the question of what a minimum service level actually is, says consultant editor Darren Newman.
In the current political climate, it seems foolish to make predictions about the Government's future policy in relation to employment law. But amidst widespread speculation about a "bonfire of rights", it is worth looking at what the Government has so far said and done that might indicate the direction of travel, according to consultant editor Darren Newman.
Consultant editor Darren Newman argues that more restrictive trade union laws, such as the lifting of the ban on using agency workers during industrial action and an increase in the level of damages that can be awarded against unions for unlawful industrial action, are not the answer to tackling the current wave of industrial unrest.
Despite the coronavirus pandemic, HR professionals have had their fair share of employment law rulings to keep track of in 2021. We count down the 10 most important judgments of the year that every employer should know about.
Changing the defined contribution (DC) pension scheme might be something organisations are considering in the context of furlough or simply in the course of your ordinary business. Done well, change exercises can be a great opportunity to educate and engage employees about pension benefits. Helen Rowan identifies eight practical steps that HR teams should consider to make the pension change a success.
Consultant editor Darren Newman looks at a recent case in which the Court of Appeal had to consider if, in sharing information from a manager's desk diary, a trade union rep had acted outside the scope of trade union activities for the purposes of the automatically unfair dismissal protection afforded by s.152 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.
This article looks at the structure of nationally and locally negotiated conditions of service in local authorities.
Commentary and insights: HR and legal information and guidance relating to collective employee relations.