​ ​	David Mellard, Tooting resident and Director of Bedrock Human Resources. on the Government’s manifesto, Brexit, and how it affects the working rights of you and your employees.

We are living in politically stormy times! Despite Theresa May’s commitment that her party would deliver the biggest expansion of workers’ rights by any Conservative government, the following Conservative manifesto points were omitted from the Queen’s speech:

• Employees’ right to unpaid time off to care full-time for elderly dependents
• Employees’ right to request training
• The review of employment tribunal fees
• Extending protection for people returning from Maternity and Family Leave

Therefore, despite promises made by both sides in campaigning, the Queen’s Speech has signalled no significant impact on workers’ rights at present.

What was included, and how it affects your company
Increased protection for Mental Health Conditions is important, and reinforces the need for good HR practice in monitoring and managing sickness absence in your team. Similarly, the publication of the Taylor Review on the rise of the gig economy (a term which tends to refer to people using apps to sell their labour, such as Uber and Deliveroo) will have an impact on you if you employ workers on self-employed or zero hours contracts. We advise you check what type of contracts you are using, and seek advice if you are unclear.

Will there be another General Election and how does that affect employment practice?
Many political commentators have suggested that there may be another General Election sooner rather than later. Labour and the Conservatives hold different manifesto promises on workers’ rights which could reappear in future manifestos. For example:

• Labour promises to increase the minimum wage to to at least £10 an hour by 2020, whereas Conservatives confirmed their commitment to increase minimum wage to 60% of median earnings by 2020.
• Labour would introduce 4 new public holidays each year.
• Labour would scrap employment tribunal fees and zero hours contracts, something echoed by the Liberal Democrats.

It is therefore a good idea to keep an eye on each party and what they are promising, if the UK goes to the ballot box again.

Brexit - what you can do now to prepare my workforce
Nobody is quite sure what Brexit will mean for business. Apart from possible changes to Employment Legislation which will have a long lead-in time to change, the key ways to plan ahead are to ensure you have a good pipeline of talent and a plan of action if you rely on EU staff in your workforce. We advise that you look at how you are recruiting and what you can offer as a package to retain good staff.

It looks likely that the government will offer rights to EU citizens to have been living in the UK legally and continuously for the past 5 years; you can help your staff to understand the offer and what this means for them. Clear and regular communication, stating your intention to continue employment as the context allows, will offer reassurance at this time of uncertainty.

Bedrock HR Ltd works with businesses at all stages, typically with between 5-50 employees to provide a cost-effect outsourced HR solution. Talk to us if you’ve got any questions, we’d love to hear from you. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Call me on 07887 800 215 or email david@bedrockhr.co.uk.