Labour’s Employment Rights Bill and the (possible) future of social care
Among Labour’s promised ‘first 100 days’ actions was the introduction of a landmark Employment Rights Bill, which is now working its way through the House of Commons. Although heavily trailed in advance of the General Election, there was nevertheless a great deal of horse-trading before the Bill’s publication between the Department for Business and Trade, employers, and trade unions (and the Treasury) with compromises to be struck.
The focus of most media attention has been on the proposed Fair Work Agency (subject to further consultation and unlikely to be operating anytime prior to 2026), the end of zero hours contracts, a clear requirement for employers to adopt a presumption of flexible working entitlements for their staff, and the overall increase to ‘day one’ rights for employees. Anti-union legislation passed by the Conservatives is also to be repealed by the Bill, with Labour are keen to herald the legislation as a watershed moment for workers’ rights in Britain while small businesses are keen to call it rushed and failing to facilitate economic growth. The left-wing critique is, of course, the familiar refrain that proposals do not go far enough (perfection must always be the enemy of good).
The Bill will doubtless evolve, and many of its changes will require further regulations to be issued, while some measures are subject to further consultation next year (most notable the Fair Work Agency itself). Most fascinating, however, is the lack of public attention so far paid to the provisions contained in Chapter 2.
In the field of adult social care, the Bill provides a framework for a collective bargaining negotiating body to set terms and conditions across the care sector. Admittedly, the Bill provides only the means for ministers to do this – it does not require it of them – but it appears a clear statement of intent and is a radical one. Indeed, if fully implemented it would regulate private sector care provision in much the way that government controls public sector arrangements (although this is not, of course, historically unprecedented, but unusual in the post-Thatcher world). It could be the foundations of the often discussed ‘National Care Service’.
Top-tier local authorities across the country are dependent on private care providers to deliver social care for adults and children, working incredibly hard to ensure viable markets in their local area to keep costs as low as possible. These proposals could entirely shift this dynamic, making it a much more national (and ministerially led) matter. At the same time, the provisions are presently drafted in such a way that they could readily apply collective terms and conditions to personal assistant carers, often funded via councils making direct payments to facilitate care receivers making greater choices about their own care (and lowering administrative burdens for councils at the same time). In essence, the entire care market could look extremely different – and the care sector, including councils, should start taking note sooner rather than later if they want to shape it.
