Labours third term promises radical workplace reform

Labourís much-reduced majority is unlikely to make any significant difference to the governmentís policies for the workplace, according to a report from employment specialists IRS (Industrial Relations Services).



It says employers can expect Labourís third term to be as far-reaching and as radical as the first two, with significant new legislation outlawing age discrimination which will affect almost every area of working life, and major changes in policies on training, employee sickness and pensions.

Mark Crail, editor of the report, titled, Five Year Forecast: the IRS third term HR report, said:

Since 1997 we have seen the introduction of the minimum wage, new rights to trade union recognition, the maximum working week and legal back for at least four weeksí paid holiday. Itís sometimes easy to forget quite how much has changed. Looking ahead to the next five years, we believe employers will have to deal with a tranche of further regulation, including a statutory right to paid bank holidays and possibly tighter control over the use of agency temps. But some things may become easier. Labourís training agenda is a real attempt to deal with deep-seated skills problems in the UK, and the creation of a new Commission for Equality and Human Rights may help to unify and simplify discrimination law.

Five Year Forecast: the IRS third term HR report (ISBN 140570893X), published by LexisNexis Butterworths, addresses these issues. The report also includes specific research, examining HR practitionersí thoughts and reactions to initiatives likely to be pushed forward by the government.

The report covers a wide range of areas, including: equality and diversity, trade union agreements, mergers and consolidation, the impact of the Warwick Agreement, the European dimension (policies that will affect the UK workforce), the skills agenda and labour market, health and safety, as well as the future of HR.

Key findings include:

Eight out of ten (81%) HR professionals want the Commission for Equality and Human Rights to issue good practice advice and tools for employers, rather than carrying out investigations (40%) and legal enforcement (31%).

Three out of four employers (76%) agree that employers should play a role in tackling discrimination in the workplace because it is the right thing to do but only one in four (22%) monitor grievance and disciplinary cases.

HR practitioners are concerned at developments in Europe. Nearly one in three (32%) panellists said that if the draft directive on agency temps were approved they would use fewer temps, while one in four (22.3%) was concerned at the possible cost.

Survey respondents also felt strongly about the future of HR; should it be aligned to business needs or seeking recognition of its professional status. More than eight in 10 (85%) want HR to respond more to the needs of their business, while 86% say it should make a voice at board level a priority.

Fewer than one in five respondents (19%) wanted to see tighter controls on who can enter HR. For bodies such as the CIPD that have made this a central policy plank, this may be an unwelcome finding.

Five Year Forecast: the IRS third term HR report (ISBN 140570893X) available from LexisNexis Butterworths, tel: 020 8662 2000; 95 plus 4.95 p&p (12 overseas).