Labour’s workers’ rights policy has ‘more holes than Swiss cheese’

Labour is facing a union backlash after watering down its flagship workers’ rights package in a business-friendly rebrand.

The boss of the UK’s biggest union said that the latest iteration of plans originally devised by Angela Rayner had “more holes in it than Swiss cheese”.

On Friday, Labour rebranded its workers’ rights package to give it a more voter friendly name and calm the nerves of business.

The plan, which was previously called the New Deal for Working People, has been renamed Labour’s Plan to Make Work Pay in a new document published online without fanfare on Friday night.

It confirms previous U-turns on the package, such as dropping a complete ban on zero hour contracts in favour of a ban on “exploitative zero hours contracts”.

One pledge that no longer appears on the updated proposal is laws that would allow workers to disconnect and not be contacted by their employer via calls and emails outside of working hours.

The party instead proposes a softer approach of giving workers the “opportunity” to have “constructive conversations” with their employees about their rights to switch off.

Instead of being written into law, the rule is expected to be included in the existing Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) codes of practice for employers. France, Italy, Ireland and Belgium have adopted a similar approach in recent years.

In Belgium, companies with 20 employees or more must give staff the right to disconnect, while Ireland has followed a code of practice on switching off at home since 2021. The code ensures employees do not routinely perform work outside normal working hours, and are not penalised for refusing to attend to out-of-hours work matters.

Labour had also pledged to introduce new rights protecting workers from remote surveillance by their employers, but this commitment has been watered down, leaving it “subject to consultation and negotiation”.

‘Party must stick to its guns’

It received a rough reception from Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite, who said: “The again revised New Deal for Working People has more holes in it than Swiss cheese. The number of caveats and get outs means it is in danger of becoming a bad bosses’ charter.

“Working people expect Labour to be their voice. They need to know that Labour will not back down to corporate profiteers determined to maintain the status quo of colossal profits at the expense of everyone else.

“The country desperately needs a Labour government, but the party must show it will stick to its guns on improving workers’ rights.”

It says that Labour will “consult fully with businesses, workers and civil society on how to put our plans into practice before legislation is passed”.

Sir Keir Starmer has been in negotiations with the trade unions for weeks over the proposals, which were first published by the deputy Labour leader in 2022.

Businesses had raised concerns that the package could harm Britain’s competitiveness, prompting fears from the unions that Sir Keir would water down the policies.

The new document confirms a number of commitments, including “ending fire and rehire” and repealing trade union restrictions introduced by the Conservatives since 2016.

It also confirms that workers will get “day one” employment rights, “ending the current arbitrary system that leaves workers waiting up to two years to access basic rights of protection against unfair dismissal, parental leave and sick pay”.