Labour Manifesto Breakdown 2019
Careers, Employment, Hiring, News / 10 December 2019
Welcome to part two of our election manifesto breakdown. As with all of our overviews, we’re mainly concerned with the impacts for jobseekers and employers, so do make sure to have a read of the entire Labour Party Manifesto in full for a more complete picture. Additionally, make sure to have a look at Fullfact’s analysis, as well as the Institute of Fiscal Studies reaction to the manifesto. These both offer good, objective overviews of the entire manifesto.
A Green Industrial Revolution
Overview
The Labour Manifesto states that the party will take an evidence-based approach, coupled with investing heavily in green energy and nationalising energy and water industries, to get the UK on target to reach net-zero carbon emissions in the next 30 years.
They want to aim for a completely homegrown, green-friendly industry, which handles everything from innovation and manufacturing to engineering. Public transport and bus services across the country would be re-nationalised and receive additional investment.
- Potentially lots of new roles in the green energy sector.
- Increase in science and research spending (3% of GDP by 2030) could mean good long term opportunities for scientists and researchers in climate-related fields.
- Upgrading and investing in steel production should create more jobs, and protect existing ones in this industry.
- Investing in training, especially when it comes to the apprenticeship levy, could make career progression and reskilling easier, opening up more opportunities for jobseekers.
- Climate Apprenticeships for retraining and learning relevant skills.
- Targeted bursaries for BAME people, ex-forces personnel, women, and people with disabilities.
- More opportunities in public sector transport roles, including bus drivers and train staff.
- A reworking of the often criticised apprenticeship levy, broadening the training it can cover, which will include climate-related training.
- Smaller businesses could be able to better leverage the apprenticeship levy.
- Climate Apprenticeship program will mean employers are expected to use at least 25% of their Apprenticeship Levy to climate-related training. This could perhaps stifle the program for some employers.
Rebuild Our Public Services
Overview
At the core of this pledge is an increase in tax for those that earn over £80,000, which the party claim will be used to fund the various public service restructuring. Labour also wants to crack down on large scale tax avoidance, especially by corporations.
A year by year above-inflation pay increase is slated for public sector workers. Additionally, they want to introduce stricter guidelines when public services are outsourced, which would include things like fair wage clauses and full tax compliance.
Increased spending on the NHS, including training bursaries for nurses and midwives, is also on the table. Reinvestment in social care is too. Education-wise, Labour want to set up a new teacher supply service and focus on free upskilling and retraining for green industry and future working environments. Free nationwide broadband, which would be paid for by tech giants, is also proposed.
- Paid Maternity leave would be extended to 12 months, and free preschool education up to 30 hours for 2-4 year olds would reduce the pressure on working parents.
- Paid time off accrued for training and learning could make gaining new skills rewarding and affordable.
- More police to be recruited, which means more frontline and support officer jobs potentially
- New community lawyers to be hired
- Better workers rights, which could lead to less stressful working environments.
- More investment in the creative sector should create more opportunities
- Investment in broadband could create more jobs, and enable and encourage remote and flexible working.
- Teacher supply service could spell trouble for teaching recruitment agencies.
- Less stressed parent employees thanks to the increased maternity leave and preschool options.
- Increased maternity leave may also increase the need for temps and cover workers.
- Upskilling will be made very accessible, which means companies should benefit from a wider selection of skilled candidates over time.
- Skills gap could start to be addressed by free training
- Accrued days off for training might cause logistical problems for some employers, as staff have more days off.
Tackle Poverty and Inequality
Overview
The Labour party states they want to undo the problem of work poverty by increasing the national living wage to at least £10 per hour for over 16s. Large companies will be required to offer some aspects of ownership to their employees as well, which means staff will become entitled to a share of the profits.
A universal income scheme would also be piloted, and better support would be put in place for freelance and gig economy workers. Extending workers rights, removing zero-hour contracts, and adding additional protection against unfair dismissal are also priorities. The party also wants to tackle the gender pay gap.
- Increased working rights.
- Being self-employed could be much less stressful, and a more viable option for some.
- Higher living wages
- Profit share for workers should increase incomes
- Universal credit could make the process of finding a job less stressful, thanks to better financial security during the search.
- A right to flexible working
- More equal workplace, especially in terms of pay for women.
- Internships will have to be paid by law, which means career progression and gaining experience would be fairer and more accessible.
- More employee-focused legislation could mean additional workloads for HR and legal departments.
- Employee stake in profits could help to increase employee loyalty and retention
- Flexible working could increase productivity, reduce office costs, and increase staff retention, but won’t be possible for all companies to implement depending on their sector.
- Paid breaks could increase employee costs.
- Small businesses could benefit from better payment enforcements.
- A more equal workplace means a more diverse workforce, which is advantageous to employers in terms of productivity and employee happiness.
The Final Say on Brexit
Overview
Labour wants to hold a legally binding referendum on Brexit if they gain power, the options being to remain in the EU or leave with a deal – no deal will be off the table. Any deal the party negotiates will be based around the fundamental principles of its manifesto.
- EU nationals will be granted an automatic right to live and work in the UK if the vote is to leave.
- Labour aims to keep and further reinforce the worker protections that exist in EU law, regardless of the outcome.
- Whatever the outcome, a legally binding referendum means the government is forced to act, so any uncertainty should end whatever the result. This means businesses should finally be able to provision for the final outcome at least.
- Skilled EU labour should remain easy to access whatever the result.
Manifesto Summary
Overall then, some quite major reforms from the Labour manifesto. Most are based around the idea of renationalising a number of industries (especially transport) while increasing the rights and resources of workers. This does mean that should there be a Labour government, the UK workforce as a whole could see some decent benefits, especially in terms of work/life balance, training opportunities, equality, and career choice. Support for small business, and the possibility of remaining in the EU, or at least not leaving with no deal, are also appealing for employers – especially those that rely on EU employees and trade.
Larger companies could suffer, however, and some businesses may also be at a disadvantage depending on circumstance, size, and sector. Private companies providing services to the public sector are one such example. Increased regulations and bureaucracy could cause costs to rise for some employers, especially where HR and legal teams are concerned.
Another possible problem is that large companies may offset increases in (or actual collection of) tax by lowering wages and increasing prices, which could mean we all end up paying in the end. This could undo any increases in wages or state support for jobseekers and workers, while at the same time driving major companies away from the UK.
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