CIPD Chief Executive meets with ministers to kickstart Plan to Make Work Pay

The CIPD was among the professional and business bodies that met with the Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds this week to kickstart engagement on the changes to employment law under the Government’s Plan to Make Work Pay. 

CIPD Chief Executive Peter Cheese attended the high-level meeting with business leaders and Cabinet ministers in Westminster on Wednesday (14 August), representing CIPD members and the people profession more widely. Other attendees included the TUC, CBI and the Federation of Small Businesses. 

We had previously urged the Government to adopt a consultative and collaborative approach with businesses when reforming employment rights, so were pleased to have been at the table for this important discussion. 

We reiterated our call for meaningful consultation on the reforms and outlined the importance of engaging with employers and the HR profession on key areas where there is likely to be most impact.  

The Government intends to introduce an Employment Rights Bill within its first 100 days, which will bring forth new workers’ rights including entitlement to parental leave, sick pay and protection from unfair dismissal from day one of employment. 

Other changes expected include banning exploitative zero-hours contracts and strengthening regulation around ‘fire and rehire’ practices, the creation of a single enforcement body to ensure employers uphold workers’ rights, and reforms to the minimum wage including ensuring the rate accounts for the cost of living.   

The CIPD will be continuing its engagement with members and employers over the coming months to understand the full impact of the proposals in the Plan to Make Work Pay and feed that back to government.