The Conservatives’ employment law proposals ahead of the general election
The Conservatives released their manifesto, ‘Clear Plan, Bold Action, Secure Future’ on Tuesday 11th June as part of their campaign for the general election. We have summarised the proposed plans from the Conservative’s manifesto that will have a direct impact on HR and employment law in this article.
It is important to note that Parliament was dissolved on the 30th May 2024 when the General Election was announced. This means all unfinished employment legislation will no longer be implemented (except for the fire and re-hire Code of Practice), unless it is reintroduced in the next Parliament. This means we await to see what happens with several pieces of legislation that were supposed to be introduced over the next year including:
- Reforms to the TUPE regulations
- Allocation of tips
- Neonatal leave and pay
- The right to request a more predictable working pattern
Pay and wages
National Minimum Wage
- Maintain the national minimum wage each year in Parliament at two-thirds of the median earnings, where it is expected to increase to around £13 per hour by the end of Parliament (5 years).
National Insurance
- A promise to scrap National Insurance for the self-employed by the end of the next Parliament.
- Pledge to reduce employees’ national insurance contributions by an additional 2p, which would halve it from 12% at the beginning of 2024 to 6% in April 2027.
Pensions
- Cut tax for pensioners with the ‘Triple Lock Plus’ scheme
- This scheme means the personal allowance would rise each year, so that pensioners would never pay tax on their state pension.
Reintroduction of employment tribunal fees
- Reintroduction of a fee (£55) to issue a claim at an employment tribunal
- This fee is significantly lower than previous fees
- Reintroduced to reduce the need for taxpayers’ money to pay for tribunals, yet may deter people from issuing a claim
Childcare
- From September 2025, provide working parents with 30 hours of free childcare a week from when a child turns 9 months until the time they start school. This is currently only available to 3 and 4 year olds.
- Change the child benefits system to household-based rather than individual, raising the salary threshold to £120,000.
Encourage people back to work
Overhaul the fit note process
The Conservatives plan to overhaul the current fit note system to reduce the number of employees that are signed off sick as a default.
- Their plans are to provide a triage service for those who are seeking a fit note.
- This should put them on a pathway to support their individual health and employment needs.
- An assessor who will look at their job, health, work, question whether they should be signed off when considering several different factors.
Changes to benefits system
- Tighten how the benefits systems assess the capability for work
- Remove benefits from claimants who refuse to take up suitable jobs after a period of 12 months.
Up-skilling and apprenticeships
National service for all school leavers
- A national service scheme to be introduced for when a young person turns 18
- The scheme would provide them with two options once they turn 18; take part in a year-long placement in the military/civic service or spend one week a month volunteering within their community over a 12-month period.
- It is not clear how this would impact those who already have jobs or apprenticeships
Advanced British Standard
- Introduction of this qualification for 16-19 year olds
- This is to enhance technical learning as well as academic skills for those building on a-levels and t-levels.
Adult up-skilling
- From September 2025 lifelong learning entitlement loans will be available for adults to upskill and retrain throughout their lives.
- Continue with their expansion of adult skills programmes such as Skills Bootcamps.
100,000 new apprenticeships
- Pledged to fund 100,000 more apprenticeships a year by the end of Parliament.
- These would replace underperforming university degrees (high drop-out rates or where graduates leave no better off).
- The money saved by removing these degrees would be used to fund high-quality apprenticeships.
Define sex as ‘biological’ in The Equality Act
The Conservatives plan to amend the Equality Act 2010 to define the term sex as ‘biological’. Their reasoning behind this change is to remove any ‘confusion’ and protect women’s spaces.
Migration
- Introduce a legal cap on migration that will fall every year in parliament to reduce immigration.
- Adjust the immigration process for overseas workers by increasing visa fees and requiring health checks.
- Increasing the skilled worker salary and family income thresholds in line with inflation.
NHS
The Conservatives have pledged a number of changes within the NHS including:
- 92,000 more nurses by the end of the next Parliament
- 28,000 more doctors by the end of the next Parliament
- Create 40 new hospitals by 2030
- Minimise the number of managers in the NHS by 5,500
Getting prepared
Preparation is key for employers in terms of the proposed changes. Once the results are in from the election on the 4th July it will be of the upmost importance for employers to begin preparing for whichever changes come into force. At HPC we are here to support our clients through this to ensure they remain up-to-date and compliant with any HR and employment law changes that are introduced.
To find out more information or if you require HR and employment law support for your business get in contact with our team of experts.
T: 0330 107 1037
E: contact@hpc.uk.com
LinkedIn: High Performance Consultancy
The contents of this article are for general information purposes only. Whilst High Performance Consultancy Ltd endeavours to ensure that the information on this document is correct, no warranty, express or implied, is given as to its accuracy and we do not accept any liability for error or omission.
