[IER] Stark warnings of rising inequality as Tories place further barriers on unions and access to justice

Fri Jan 13 17:07:17 GMT 2017

IER News Brief 13/01/17

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news brief

Friday 13th January 2017

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What use are workers' rights without enforcement? Whether that is through an individual's ability to take their employer to tribunal or a trade union's ability to bargain for its members against a poor employer? As our Chair John Hendy says: Without the right to strike, collective bargaining is reduced to collective begging. To which we might add, without access to justice, workers' rights aren't worth the paper they are written on.

This week, we have seen further evidence that inequality is rising and more workers are stuck in unfair conditions. In an echo of the landmark Uber case, courier service CityLink has been forced to admit a worker it described as  <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=839849a9f4&e=71131c031b> "self-employed" is anything but - a ruling we can expect to see repeated for many more companies with similar business models. Commenting on the gig economy overall, the Law Society has backed the idea of a universal definition of worker <http://ier.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=79f1afcf94&e=71131c031b>  to halt such miscategorisations - a proposal which is also included in our Manifesto for Labour Law <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=dce17ac4e1&e=71131c031b> : 25 recommendations for the restructing of employment law, which has been adopted by the Labour Party.

Elsewhere, zero-hour contracts are forcing young people to live on the streets <http://ier.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=4acc1a568a&e=71131c031b> , stagnant wages have pushed household debt to a 20-year peak <http://ier.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=d0e2d4a1ca&e=71131c031b> , and there has been a four-fold rise in the proportion of men working in low-paid, part-time jobs <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=760e855a66&e=71131c031b> .

But the government pushes ahead with proposals aimed at silencing worker resistance. This week's parliamentary debate on Access to Justice revealed that a new proposal to treat any personal injury worth less than £5,000 as a small claim will mean people with broken bones will have to pay for their legal representation out of their compensation <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=174f09eb13&e=71131c031b>  - including those who have been injured at work. This, on top of employment tribunal fees and barriers to accessing legal aid, creates yet more disincentives for workers to hold their employers to account.

Join our panel of experts - including judges, lawyers, academics and trade unionists - to discuss the issues of access to justice, case law, and how barriers can be resisted at our forthcoming Access to Justice events in Liverpool <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=18d6546df6&e=71131c031b>  and London <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=3a6c47584c&e=71131c031b> . If you book by 17/01/2017 you will receive a special 30% discount!

Also this week, draft statutory instruments defining "important publice services" for the purpose of the Trade Union Act 2016 have been published <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=70bbb63ce7&e=71131c031b> . Workers in those services included in the definition will have to secure a turnout of 50% on strike ballots and the support of 40% of the total workforce. It seems workers for the London Underground and Southern Rail would fall within this category.

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 News and comment

 Workers' rights <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/b1c726de-bf3c-454c-9dd0-50d42672c9ff.png> 

	Law Society backs simplification of employment status to remedy gig economy woes 
The Law Society has backed the idea of simplifying the definition of employment status to reduce exploitation in the gig economy.
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	Tube and rail strikes may face further barriers when TUA comes into effect
The government has released draft statutory instruments defining "important public services" as part of the Trade Union Act 2016. 
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=393da7133f&e=71131c031b> > click here to read full story

 Low pay <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/c9de063b-cd73-4fc5-8d13-fb67b7e3e040.png> 

	Four-fold rise in men working low-paid part-time jobs over past two decades, research finds
There has been a four-fold increase in the proportion of men working in low-paid, part-time jobs over the last two decades, according to new research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=240c269300&e=71131c031b> > click here to read full story

 Low pay <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/c9de063b-cd73-4fc5-8d13-fb67b7e3e040.png> 

	Top ten most bizarre excuses for underpayment of NMW released
The top ten most bizarre excuses employers had for refusing to pay National Minimum Wage have been released by the HMRC.
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 Access to justice <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/3217d00c-d174-45e5-a9cf-a588a59f2af4.jpg> 

	Proposed small claims limit 'will bar access to justice for broken bones and serious injury'
At the end of last year, the government released a consultation – now closed – on a proposal to raise the small claims limit from £1,000 to £5,000. Now, a parliamentary debate has revealed this may bar people with broken bones and serious injuries from accessing justice.
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=a86d895f47&e=71131c031b> > click here to read full story

 Workers' rights <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/b1c726de-bf3c-454c-9dd0-50d42672c9ff.png> 

	Another victory for the bogus self-employed, as courier ruled worker by tribunal
Following GMB’s landmark case against Uber in October 2016, another worker misclassified as self-employed has won the right to holiday pay, sick pay and the living wage.
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=bc34c4560e&e=71131c031b> > click here to read full story

 Low pay <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/c9de063b-cd73-4fc5-8d13-fb67b7e3e040.png> 

	Highest rise in household debt in 20 years seen as wages stagnate
New research by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has found that household debt is increasing due to a lengthy stagnation in wages and increasing inflation.
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=705e562a89&e=71131c031b> > click here to read full story

 Workers' rights <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/b1c726de-bf3c-454c-9dd0-50d42672c9ff.png> 

	Zero-hour contracts 'trapping young homeless people on the streets'
Homelessness charity Centrepoint has warned that today's increasingly casualised labour market is forcing young people to live on the streets.
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=ed73f442a0&e=71131c031b> > click here to read full story

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	Labour Law Highlights 2016: £8
Edited by Rebecca Tuck
This year’s Labour Law Highlights is produced against the backdrop of a Brexit vote in the UK and a Trump victory in the USA. It promises to be a bumpy ride ahead!
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The world of work is changing. Fast. But the framework of law tasked with protecting the health, safety and well being of workers is now 50 years old and – according to the authors of this report – no longer fit for purpose. The authors put forth proposals for reform
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In the second of IER’s series of Mythbusters, Andrew Moretta considers the many myths surrounding access to justice, including the narrative surrounding the “red tape” and “burdens on business” ideology, which he believes paved the way for systematic attacks on the tribunal system.
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Two leading experts on trade union rights – Professor Keith Ewing and John Hendy QC – publish a short but comprehensive overview of the Trade Union Bill and its implications.
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	The Conservative Government’s proposed strike ballot thresholds: The challenge to trade unions: from £6
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According to the authors of this timely report, the government is attempting to rush into law ‘the most sweeping and radical tightening of rules on industrial action since the Thatcher era of the 1980’s’. They warn that such proposals could result in ‘the biggest showdown over industrial relations for a generation’ and go on to drill down into one aspect of the government’s proposals – strike ballots.
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	The mythology of business: from £6
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The ‘myths’ that this publication takes into consideration are the kind of things that politicians now routinely say without thinking. Yet these 10 myths have very little foundation in reality and are rarely, if ever, accompanied with any concrete evidence to support them.
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	Access to Justice 2017: Liverpool
24 January 2017 - 09:30 - 15:00
Unite the Union, Liverpool
We bring together legal experts, trade unionists and academics to address recent and future planned changes to the tribunal structures, how the changes impact on claims, and what unions are doing to try and improve the enforcement of rights at work.
Speakers include Judge Brian Doyle, David Sorenson, Jo Seery, Damien Warbuton, Jeanette Sainsbury and David Renton
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 Access to Justice 2017 London <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/67980a6f-aad0-4289-ac49-271c6a576c68.jpg> 

	Access to Justice 2017: London
08 February 2017 - 09:30 - 15:00
Unite the Union, London
We bring together legal experts, trade unionists and academics to address recent and future planned changes to the tribunal structures, how the changes impact on claims, and what unions are doing to try and improve the enforcement of rights at work.
Speakers include Judge Brian Doyle, David Sorenson, Kate Ewing, Michael Ford, Gerard Airey, Diana Holland and Howard Beckett
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 Migration after Brexit: the challenge for labour standards 2017: London <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/21731663-49d4-420d-8026-e8d4e9dce1e4.jpg> 

	Migration after Brexit: the challenge for labour standards 2017: London
15 March 2017 - 09:30 - 15:15
Unite the Union, London
This conference will cover migration policy after Brexit, both from the EU and from elsewhere in the world, and the implications of future labour migration patterns for labour standards. The speakers will bring extensive expertise to the subject, as academics, campaigners and trade unionists.
Speakers include Bernard Ryan, Don Flynn, Susan Cueva, Diana Holland, Alex Balch, Alan Bogg, Owen Espley and Sonia McKay
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