New PM: What could her appointment mean for employers?
Released On 9th Sep 2022
I am writing this e-bulletin this week with the news still ringing in my ears that Liz Truss is our new Prime Minister. Now, I'm not here to spark a political debate about my views - I'm sticking to the old maxim that we should never discuss politics or religion at the dinner table or at least on this bulletin. However, I am going to discuss some of the promises and commitments she has proposed (and made) and what they could mean for employers and employees. As this is the norm, many of these promises so far are fairly woolly and lacking detail so we will await implementation to understand the full impact.
Cutting tax?
One of Truss' main campaign promises was to cut tax by reversing the national insurance increase introduced by Rishi Sunak in April 2022. This increase was implemented to set up an "HSC levy" to help fund the NHS backlog following the pandemic and help meet the social care crisis. This would scrap the requirement for the proposed HSC levy to be separated from National Insurance contributions on payslips. She has also promised a review of IR35, however, we have no idea whether this review would result in any legislative changes.
She has also promised to help with energy prices within a week of taking office and to hold an emergency budget. Details to follow, a magic wand may be required!
Industry action
Another of Truss' major pledges is to introduce changes in relation to strike action. This is clearly a hot topic at the moment with this week's postal strike, the ongoing rail strikes and firefighters announcing industrial action on the day of her official appointment. The cost-of-living crisis continues to impact all of us, meaning more strikes are likely.
She is proposing introducing a new law on minimum staffing levels during strikes, with an individual threshold set for each industry including transport, energy, education, postal workers and healthcare. She has also talked about increasing the required ballot thresholds for supporting a staff from 40% to 50% before a strike can be lawful and increasing the required minimum notice period for strike action to take place from two weeks to four weeks. She has also discussed removing the right to paid leave to carry out trade union activities. All of these proposals will of course attract strong opposition from trade unions and their members with unions already preparing to fight back.
Review of EU laws
Truss has announced her commitment to reviewing all retained EU laws. This is likely to happen under the “Brexit Freedoms Bill” which is expected to set out a speedy process for the removal or repeal of retained EU laws. Many employment laws could be affected by this proposal such as the Working Time Regulations (removal of the 48-hour working week?), the Agency Worker Regulations (repealed?) and TUPE (introduce an ability to make contractual variations following TUPE?) amongst others. Again, we don’t know what, if any, changes will be made or within what timescales or the full impact of this until more decisions have been made and the review process has taken place.
I would love to pull out my crystal ball to give you the full head’s up on the changes likely to come in. Alas! I await with bated breath the full details of Liz Truss’ proposals for employment law changes and I’m sure the details will continue to emerge over the coming weeks. It is clear that there could well be significant changes and consequences for employees and employees. Perhaps even the long-awaited Employment Bill may finally be progressed! As and when details emerge, if you need any assistance or support with any advice, we are always here and happy to help.
