Labour calls for ’employment charter’ to enshrine workers’ rights post-Covid
Labour has called for a new “employment charter”, which would see workers’ rights enshrined in law from day one in a new job.
The party is also calling for a ban on “fire and rehire” practices as a part of the charter, after the practice gained notoriety throughout the pandemic.
Under the current legislation some workers’ rights, such as being able to request flexible working, are not applicable from day one for employees.
Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said this needed to change and that the UK was at a “fork in the road”.
“Labour’s new deal for working people will fundamentally change our economy to make it work for working people and build a Britain where people in every part of our country can get good quality jobs that are a source of pride, security and dignity and pay a proper wage that people can raise a family on,” she said.
The proposed new charter would come as a part of a “new deal” for workers, which includes promises to create more British manufacturing jobs, a higher living wage and more taxation for multinationals.
The party would also enshrine a ban on “fire and rehire” practices into law, after companies like British Airways fired and then rehired staff under worse conditions during Covid-19.
Labour leader Keir Starmer said: “The pandemic has exposed the fact that millions of workers don’t have the dignity and security they deserve from their job.”
Conservative party chair Amanda Milling said today that the government had provided “unprecedented support” to workers throughout the Covid pandemic.