New employment rights and other policy changes under the new UK Government are set to have wide-reaching implications for the people profession. The new Employment Rights Bill, expected to be introduced into Parliament in mid-October, could transform how the UK labour market works, and the government’s wider plans to ‘Make Work Pay’ are expected to have a big impact on employers and the HR profession.
As the professional body for experts in people, work and change, the CIPD has two important roles to play to ensure that any proposed changes deliver the intended outcomes for people and business. First, we are actively feeding our members’ professional insights and expertise into consultations with policy-makers on all the proposed changes. And second, by sharing up-to-the minute information with members, we’re helping to reinforce their position as relevant and credible professionals.
Giving the people profession a voice in public policy making
We have a long history of engaging with the UK’s policy-makers on employment issues – particularly during party conference season which provides a great platform to engage with Ministers, MPs and others. The past few months have been some of the busiest ever for our Policy and Practice team, who’ve been asked to feed evidence and insights into government discussions and consultations around the new Employment Rights Bill and plans to Make Work Pay.
Consulting with the people profession on the Employment Rights Bill
In September, we heard from members of our policy forums and senior HR leaders network about their concerns around some of the unintended consequences of the proposals, including the qualifying period for unfair dismissal, the role of trade unions, and what the proposed changes to zero hours contracts might entail. We also heard some positive views on the potential for a new single enforcement body, but only if it engages effectively with employers.
We also surveyed over a thousand HR professionals, including CIPD members, on the specific proposals in Make Work Pay, such as the planned new probation periods and changes to statutory sick pay. We will be sharing the results over the coming month – both with the profession and with key government departments including the Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Health and Social Care, and the Department for Business and Trade.
We expect to see an increase in consultation opportunities in the coming weeks and months, with the first reading of the Employment Rights Bill expected in mid-October. We’ll continue to consult our policy forums and represent the CIPD membership and wider profession as the Bill progresses, including using the results of our detailed survey. The next step is a further discussion on 24 October with our policy forum members on the contents of the Bill and any government consultations that are launched in the next few weeks.
A cross-party approach to influencing public policy
This year’s party conference season was a great opportunity to bring our members’ concerns and expertise to the attention of policy makers across all three of the UK’s major political parties.
At the Labour Party Conference, we hosted and attended a range of events and panel discussions on equal opportunities for women, the future of skills and apprenticeships, and sick pay reforms, with high profile MPs like Stella Creasy and Disability Minister Stephen Timms. Throughout the conference we took the opportunity to meet with politicians, leading business organisations and other attendees to discuss the CIPD’s stance on the Government’s proposals for skills, equalities and employment rights, and what impacts these might have for the HR profession. Our chief executive, Peter Cheese, shared a summary of our engagement at the Labour conference on LinkedIn.
At the Conservative Party Conference, we co-hosted a roundtable discussion on the reform of the apprenticeship levy and the wider skills system to better support young people into work and training. We also spoke on a panel with former Skills Minister Robert Halfon about the potential of the Government’s new growth and skills levy.
At the Liberal Democrat Party Conference, our Policy and Practice Manager engaged with a number of key policymakers at the Lib Dem Business Day, including Sarah Olney, the Party’s Treasury Spokesperson. With 72 MPs, the Lib Dems are likely to play a bigger role in parliament over the next few years, making it important to continue to engage with the party. We were also able to attend the SNP conference in August to hear about their ideas on skills and employment in the context of a significant programme of reform around skills in Scotland.
Keeping the profession up to date, with a focus on ‘Make Work Pay’
With so much change on the horizon, it’s more important than ever for people professionals to stay up to date, in order to enhance their credibility as trusted experts. In September we launched a new ‘Focus on…’ series to make it easier than ever for members to access the most relevant and up to date content on key issues in one place. Throughout October, our focus will be on ‘Make Work Pay’ – we’ll be covering all the key issues, sharing useful resources, and keeping members updated on the latest government announcements.
