[IER] Boris deal even worse than May's, law experts warn

Fri Oct 18 16:52:12 BST 2019

IER, news brief - 18/10/2019                                                                           <https://mailchi.mp/828aea8c9561/corbyn-adopts-ier-proposals-at-tuc-2013741?e=71131c031b> View this email in your browser 

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Boris deal even worse than May's, law experts warn

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Boris Johnson's Brexit deal would weaken workers' protections ever further than Theresa May's botched agreement, IER law experts have warned.

The arguments made in the recently published free IER report  <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=0acf25ee9c&e=71131c031b> Brexit and Workers' Rights remain prescient.

Authors Keith Ewing, Professor of Public Law at Kings' College London, and Nicola Countouris, Professor of Labour Law and European Law at University College London, conclude that government promises of 'non-divergence' from EU labour law are empty.

"Talk of non-regression and non-divergence is just that: talk," they warn. 

"Those who voted to leave may not have intended to put their holiday pay at risk. But there is now no EU backstop that would prevent a Right wing government taking it away, reducing it, or diluting it in whatever way the government wants and Parliament agrees."

Given the support among right-wing Parliamentarians for ideas such as those in the 2012 Beecroft report - a litany of cuts to workers' rights that included allowing employers to sack workers for no reason at all - this could spell disaster for the UK's 33 million workers.

But Boris' deal goes further, removing any commitment to the preservation of workers' rights. Clause 79 of the Political Declaration in May's 2018 offering made reference to "building on the level playing field arrangements" of EU labour law, but Clause 77 of the new Political Declaration backs away from even this lukewarm statement, saying "commitments should be commensurate with the scope and depth of the future relationship".

Similarly, protections for Northern Irish workers have been removed, with the phrase "ensuring the maintenance of level playing field conditions" struck from the newly negotiated deal.

The authors are clear: If Boris' deal is accepted by Parliament, workers' rights will be left vulnerable to the whims of Westminster politicians, and the futures of millions would be a risk. 

 <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=182c1ac501&e=71131c031b> Download your free copy of Brexit and Workers' Rights 

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Nearly sold out!  

The IER's annual Employment Law Update conference is nearly sold out in Liverpool.

Don't miss your chance for a seat at this popular event, at which delegates will be brought up to date on legislation and case law over the last 12 months.

Speakers include:

*	Old Square Chambers
*	Paul Draycott, Doughty Street Chambers
*	Neill Todd, Thompsons Solicitors
*	Dave Smith, Blacklist Support Group
*	Paul Scholey, Morrish Solicitors
*	Judge Brian Doyle, President of employment tribunals in England and Wales

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Govt pushes forward with social care recruitment without reviewing workers' rights

The government is pushing forward with its social care recruitment campaign, without first addressing the main drivers of high turnover in the sector - poor pay and insecure hours.

 <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=ef3deb70f6&e=71131c031b> Read full article 

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Govt says it will make modern slavery history - but experts warn the victim toll is rising

The Home Secretary, Priti Patel, today – Anti-Slavery Day – pledged to "consign modern slavery to the history books", but despite government reports that investigations are on the increase, experts warn that the number of victims is rising too.

 <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=544b1518ee&e=71131c031b> Read full article 

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Austerity whistleblower wins Supreme Court case to be granted employment rights

District Judge, Claire Gilham, has won a Supreme Court case over the interpretation of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA), allowing her to take her whistleblowing case to tribunal.

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FREE: Brexit and Workers' Rights

Now, on the brink of the third deadline for a Brexit deal, two leading UK academics consider the possible implications of a ‘no-deal Brexit’ for UK workers’ rights. They conclude that the process and the post-Brexit architecture will be owned and determined by the political party in power at the time of Brexit and they pose two alternative scenarios.

Either the future could deliver a relentless process of ossification, stagnation and erosion of UK labour rights led by politicians traditionally hostile to workers’ rights. Or, the UK could not only protect those UK rights already on the statute book but could resist the tendencies of the European Commission to decentralise collective bargaining arrangements and deregulate employment protection legislation.

 <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=185e29ee62&e=71131c031b> Download Brexit and Workers' Rights 

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FREE: Guide to a progressive Industrial Relations Bill

Download our free  <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=0150233c32&e=71131c031b> Guide to a progressive Industrial Relations Bill, in which we explain our recommendations for reform in a digestible and easy-to-read format, laying out our vision for an effective framework of labour law fit for the 21st century.

We believe this Bill will transform the world of work for millions of people, give workers a voice in parliament, in their jobs, and across the economy at large.

 <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=a9bbb879e0&e=71131c031b> Download the Guide to a progressive Industrial Relations Bill 

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