Lib Dem Manifesto

The Liberal Democrat Party published its 2019 Election Manifesto earlier this week. The noteworthy employment-related commitments include:

1. Amending the Equality Act 2010 to include protection for Gender Identity and Expression; and to prohibit Caste discrimination.
2. Establish a "Worker Protection Enforcement Authority" to protect those in "precarious" employment.
3. Change the right to request flexible working to being a "day 1" right.
4. Create a new category of worker to be known as a "Dependent Contractor" with entitlement to Minimum earning levels, sick pay and holiday entitlement.
5. Create enhanced minimum wage entitlement and a right to request fixed hours for all zero-hours workers.
6. Strengthen Trade Union rights.
7. Introduction of "Skills Wallets"; a £10,000 fund per person to support lifelong learning of new skills .
8. Creating a right for employees of large listed companies to request shares be held in trust for the benefit of employees; and for such companies to have an employee representative on the Board.
9. Requiring executive pay policies to be decided by shareholder vote.
10. Set up an independent review to determinea "genuine Living Wage".
11. Extend pay gap reporting to include BAME and LGBT+ employees.
12. Increase statutory Paternity pay from 2 weeks to 6 weeks.