[IER] Labour law enforcement recommendations lack teeth

Fri May 11 17:50:25 BST 2018

IER News Brief 11/05/18Follow us on Twitter 
news brief
Friday 11th May 2018
This week, David Metcalf, the government's Director of Labour Market Enforcement, published his review into the strategies of the UK's three enforcement bodies - the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS), HMRC, and the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA).

While some of the proposals he made for reform move in the right direction, they lack the teeth to effectively enforce workers' rights.

One of the major recommendations in his review is to hold brands at the head of supply chains jointly responsible for workers' rights breaches commited by suppliers and third parties.

While the Institute of Employment Rights agrees that joint liability is an effective tool for improving compliance to employment law - and indeed, our experts made similar recommendations in our Manifesto for Labour Law, particularly in relation to health and safety legislation - Metcalf's strategy falls well short of what is needed.

He suggests that where non-compliance is found, both brands at the head of supply chains and the employer identified as breaching the law should be privately approached by enforcement bodies and given three months to rectify the isssue. Should they fail to comply, Metcalf recommends they are named and shamed.

His proposals thus do not include any joint liability to financial or legal penalties for law-breaking companies, and the prioritisation of businesses' privacy following breach of the law risks leaving workers in the dark as to what action is being taken.

This is just one of the many recommendations made by Metcalf - click here to read our full report.

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> click here to read full storyDirector of Labour Market Enforcement recommends shaming brands for supply chain rule breakers
David Metcalf, Director of Labour Market Enforcement, recommends that the brands at the top of supply chains should be named and shamed when employers in their supply chain flout employment laws. 
> click here to read full story1 in 9 workers now in insecure jobs, new analysis shows 
New analysis from the TUC has found that one in nine workers in the UK is now employed in an insecure job, such as on a zero-hour contract, through an agency, or in low-paid self-employment. 
> click here to read full story
 Featured publication 
2017 was a key year for employment law, with Unison’s success in its judicial review against tribunal fees; the implementation of the Trade Union Act 2016; the publishing of the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices, which puts forth recommendations for the reform of labour law in light of the burgeoning ‘gig economy’; and the continued negotiation of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.In Labour Law Highlights, a team of barristers from Old Square Chambers returns to assess how each of these events has impacted upon case law in the last 12 months, including clarification from the courts on the requirements of the Trade Union Act in practice, the flurry of tribunal hearings regarding ‘gig’ workers, and further decisions on the rights of workers required to take "sleep-in" shifts. In each case, they provide commentary on the potential wider implications of tribunal decisions.

The team covers a wide array of key rulings during 2017, from cases affecting trade union rights such as industrial disputes, collective consultation and recognition; to individual employment rights, such as the terms and conditions of precarious workers, pay, equality and discrimination at work, whistleblowing, and TUPE; to clarifications on and changes to the employment tribunal procedure itself.

Read more and purchase your copy   Events London: The Future of Labour Law: Progressive rights under a progressive government
14 June 2018 - 09:30 - 15:00
Unite the Union, London
At this conference, key authors from our Manifesto for Labour Law team will guide delegates through our proposed reforms, the evidence behind them, and the benefits for workers, employers and the economy of reform.
Speakers include Prof Nicola Countouris, Prof David Whyte, Dr Aristea Koukiadaki & John Hendy QC.
> click here to read more and book your place
  PublicationsLabour Law Highlights 2017: £8
Edited by Rebecca Tuck
Catch up with the most important case law developments in 2017 in the latest of our popular Labour Law Highlights series.

In this year’s Labour Law Highlights, a team of barristers from Old Square Chambers returns to assess how each of these events has impacted upon case law in the last 12 months, including clarification from the courts on the requirements of the Trade Union Act in practice, the flurry of tribunal hearings regarding ‘gig’ workers, and further decisions on the rights of workers required to take "sleep-in" shifts. In each case, they provide commentary on the potential wider implications of tribunal decisions.
> click here to read more and purchaseEurope, the EU and Britain: Workers' Rights and Economic Democracy: £8
Notes from a seminar by the Institute of Employment Rights and the Marx Memorial Library
On 01 July 2017, labour movement leaders from across Europe met at the Marx Memorial Library, London, to discuss how a progressive future for workers’ rights can be sought following the UK’s vote to leave the EU. This report documents the meeting, including the transcripts of each presentation, as well as notes on the discussion between panel and delegates on the day.
> click here to read more and purchaseThe Legacy of Thatcherism in European Labour Relations: The Impact of the Politics of Neo-Liberalism and Austerity on Collective Bargaining in a Fragmenting Europe: £8
By Miguel Martinez Lucio, Aristea Koukiadaki and Isabel Tavora
As the UK prepares to leave the European Union, this analysis – the 11th in our Comparative Notes series – shines a light on the deleterious effect of the nation's deregulatory influence on the bloc.
> click here to read more and purchase8 Good Reasons Why Adult Social Care Needs Sectoral Collective Bargaining: £8
By Dr Lydia Hayes
In this booklet, Dr Lydia Hayes sets out the lessons learned from her interdisciplinary research into the social care sector, and builds upon the recommendations made in the Institute of Employment Rights' Manifesto for Labour Law: a comprehensive revision of worker’s rights to propose a sectoral collective bargaining structure for the negotiation of wages and conditions.
> Click here to read more and buy your copyTo unsubscribe, please contact sarah at ier.org.uk. 
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