Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner (Image: Getty)
Angela Rayner’s Employment Rights Bill is a “stealth tax” on employees that will lead to lower wages, critics claimed. The legislation, to be debated in the House of Lords on Monday, will give workers more rights in the workplace but cost businesses up to ￡5billion every year. A new analysis warned that the cost would ultimately be paid by employees.
Len Shackleton, professor of economics at the University of Buckingham, said: “Politicians love to announce new employment ‘rights’ because they think employers pay the bill – but that’s an illusion. Every mandate, from parental leave to holiday entitlements, acts like a stealth tax that gets passed back to workers through smaller pay rises than they would otherwise receive.” He warned: “The Employment Rights Bill will make this much worse, imposing billions in hidden costs that workers will ultimately bear themselves. The Government is not protecting workers – it is harming them and undermining its own alleged number-one priority to boost economic growth.”
Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT
Dementia Has Been Linked To a Common Habit. Do You Do It?Memory Health | Sponsored Sponsored
Learn More
Undo
DON'T MISS
Powered by
POLL: Do you trust Rachel Reeves with Britain's economy?
143 Comments
'Needs to go!' New calls for triple lock 'replacement' in betrayal of pensioners
14 Comments
Rachel Reeves is driving a runaway train - and she's about to run out of track
752 Comments
New hammer blow for Labour as firms now have 'no confidence' crisis will be solved
43 Comments
Sick note Britain! Welfare trap now means 'benefits pay ￡2,500 more than a job'
268 Comments
Rachel Reeves 'catastrophe' strikes as new economic bombshell rocks Labour
43 Comments
Kemi Badenoch blazes at 'immoral' cost of benefits bill as country braces for tax raids
307 Comments
Currys boss' chilling warning to Reeves: 'think very carefully' before you make it 'worse'
43 Comments
Labour's first year in power sees economic growth promises turn into broken dreams
104 Comments
Desperate businesses plead with Keir Starmer to promise no more tax increases
3 Comments
Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves blasted as some 'families up to ￡1,800 worse off'
76 Comments
Lower-skilled office workers can still come to Britain despite UK visa overhaul
15 Comments
Rachel Reeves urged to 'end the triple lock'
3 Comments
Campaigners rush to defend triple lock amid pensioner poverty warning
13 Comments
Dementia Has Been Linked To a Common Habit. Do You Do It?Memory Health | Sponsored Sponsored
Learn More
Undo
Rachel Reeves creates 'tax time bomb' that could shrink UK economy
31 Comments
Rachel Reeves has never run a business or created a job - that's why she's failing
72 Comments
Dementia Has Been Linked To a Common Habit. Do You Do It?Memory Health | Sponsored Sponsored
Learn More
Undo
GB News descends into blistering clash as Labour minister left squirming
8 Comments
UK economy shrinks another 0.1% in disaster for Rachel Reeves
534 Comments
Dementia Has Been Linked To a Common Habit. Do You Do It?Memory Health | Sponsored Sponsored
Learn More
Undo
Rachel Reeves told to 'level with people' and admit she will have to put up taxes
49 Comments
Fury as Labour refuses to rule out fresh tax hikes targeting 1 group
514 Comments
Dementia Has Been Linked To a Common Habit. Do You Do It?Memory Health | Sponsored Sponsored
Learn More
Undo
POLL: Do you trust Rachel Reeves with Britain's economy?
143 Comments
'Needs to go!' New calls for triple lock 'replacement' in betrayal of pensioners
14 Comments
Dementia Has Been Linked To a Common Habit. Do You Do It?Memory Health | Sponsored Sponsored
Learn More
Undo
Rachel Reeves is driving a runaway train - and she's about to run out of track
752 Comments
New hammer blow for Labour as firms now have 'no confidence' crisis will be solved
43 Comments
Dementia Has Been Linked To a Common Habit. Do You Do It?Memory Health | Sponsored Sponsored
Learn More
Undo
Sick note Britain! Welfare trap now means 'benefits pay ￡2,500 more than a job'
268 Comments
Rachel Reeves 'catastrophe' strikes as new economic bombshell rocks Labour
43 Comments
Dementia Has Been Linked To a Common Habit. Do You Do It?Memory Health | Sponsored Sponsored
Learn More
Undo
Kemi Badenoch blazes at 'immoral' cost of benefits bill as country braces for tax raids
307 Comments
Currys boss' chilling warning to Reeves: 'think very carefully' before you make it 'worse'
43 Comments
Dementia Has Been Linked To a Common Habit. Do You Do It?Memory Health | Sponsored Sponsored
Learn More
Undo
Labour's first year in power sees economic growth promises turn into broken dreams
104 Comments
Desperate businesses plead with Keir Starmer to promise no more tax increases
3 Comments
Dementia Has Been Linked To a Common Habit. Do You Do It?Memory Health | Sponsored Sponsored
Learn More
Undo
Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves blasted as some 'families up to ￡1,800 worse off'
76 Comments
Lower-skilled office workers can still come to Britain despite UK visa overhaul
15 Comments
Dementia Has Been Linked To a Common Habit. Do You Do It?Memory Health | Sponsored Sponsored
Learn More
Undo
Rachel Reeves urged to 'end the triple lock'
3 Comments
Campaigners rush to defend triple lock amid pensioner poverty warning
13 Comments
Rachel Reeves creates 'tax time bomb' that could shrink UK economy
31 Comments
Rachel Reeves has never run a business or created a job - that's why she's failing
72 Comments
GB News descends into blistering clash as Labour minister left squirming
8 Comments
UK economy shrinks another 0.1% in disaster for Rachel Reeves
534 Comments
Rachel Reeves told to 'level with people' and admit she will have to put up taxes
49 Comments
Fury as Labour refuses to rule out fresh tax hikes targeting 1 group
514 Comments
POLL: Do you trust Rachel Reeves with Britain's economy?
143 Comments
'Needs to go!' New calls for triple lock 'replacement' in betrayal of pensioners
14 Comments
Rachel Reeves is driving a runaway train - and she's about to run out of track
752 Comments
New hammer blow for Labour as firms now have 'no confidence' crisis will be solved
43 Comments
Sick note Britain! Welfare trap now means 'benefits pay ￡2,500 more than a job'
268 Comments
Rachel Reeves 'catastrophe' strikes as new economic bombshell rocks Labour
43 Comments
Kemi Badenoch blazes at 'immoral' cost of benefits bill as country braces for tax raids
307 Comments
READ MORE
Angela Rayner 'could put Tory legend Norman Tebbit's achievements into reverse'
Angela Rayner accused of plotting to stop workplace banter
The comments were backed by Andrew Griffith, Shadow Business and Trade Secretary. He said: “The so-called Employment Rights Bill is nothing more than a Trojan horse for union power and state interference.”
In a report published by Institute of Economic Affairs, Mr Shackleton warned that the new laws championed by the Deputy Prime Minister could revive 1970s-style trade union militancy and damage economic growth, which is already in reverse, after the economy shrank by 0.1% in May and 0.3% in April.
Powered By
00:00/01:20
10 Sec
79.9K
11
Suspended NHS nurse Jennifer Melle speaks about ordeal
Next
Stay
The legislation gives workers new rights from day one of employment, such as the ability to claim unfair dismissal, currently available after two years, or unpaid parental leave, currently available after one year.
Sponsored
Health Paradise | Sponsored Sponsored
Learn More
Urologists: Men With ED - Try This Tonight
Undo
It also creates a new “fair work agency” to seek out infringements of employment regulations even if no staff member has made a complaint.
Unions will also gain new powers, including the right to enter employer premises and use a company’s electronic communications to recruit members.
The legislation will make strike action easier, scrapping rules introduced by the last Conservative government that required at least a 50% turnout in industrial action ballots in order for industrial action to be approved. It also removes a rule that required at least 40% of the total membership to support industrial action for it to be approved in the case of “important public services”.
It means a return to the days when a simple majority vote was needed to approve walkouts. But this could encourage more militancy at a time when unions are already flexing their muscles, the report warned.
It said: “Recent strike outbreaks since Covid have suggested that union militancy is reviving, and this trend could be accentuated by the changes which the government is making in the Employment Rights Bill.”
The report, Liberating the Labour Market, urged the Government to scrap complex “equal value” comparisons that mean employers can be forced to pay compensation if two different jobs have different salaries. Existing rules helped cause the financial crisis in Birmingham, when the council was forced to pay more than ￡250 million because cleaners, who were mainly women, had been paid less than refuse workers, who were mainly men.
A government impact assessment found that the legislation will cost employers between ￡900million and ￡5billion. This includes the direct costs of delivering benefits to workers and administration.
Mr Griffith said: “This report is welcome. Labour’s love-in with the unions is dragging Britain back to the worst economic mistakes of the 1970s.”
He said the package of new laws “risks pricing people out of jobs, deterring investment, and sending small businesses to the wall. It’s a blueprint for stagnation and leads to more strikes, more red tape, and less growth.
DON'T MISS
Powered by
POLL: Do you trust Rachel Reeves with Britain's economy?
143 Comments
'Needs to go!' New calls for triple lock 'replacement' in betrayal of pensioners
14 Comments
Rachel Reeves is driving a runaway train - and she's about to run out of track
752 Comments
New hammer blow for Labour as firms now have 'no confidence' crisis will be solved
43 Comments
Sick note Britain! Welfare trap now means 'benefits pay ￡2,500 more than a job'
268 Comments
Rachel Reeves 'catastrophe' strikes as new economic bombshell rocks Labour
43 Comments
Kemi Badenoch blazes at 'immoral' cost of benefits bill as country braces for tax raids
307 Comments
Currys boss' chilling warning to Reeves: 'think very carefully' before you make it 'worse'
43 Comments
Labour's first year in power sees economic growth promises turn into broken dreams
104 Comments
Desperate businesses plead with Keir Starmer to promise no more tax increases
3 Comments
Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves blasted as some 'families up to ￡1,800 worse off'
76 Comments
Lower-skilled office workers can still come to Britain despite UK visa overhaul
15 Comments
Rachel Reeves urged to 'end the triple lock'
3 Comments
Campaigners rush to defend triple lock amid pensioner poverty warning
13 Comments
Baby Keep Staring His Pant, When Mom Find Why She Calls 911!.Bim Bam Bam | Sponsored Sponsored
Read More
Undo
Rachel Reeves creates 'tax time bomb' that could shrink UK economy
31 Comments
Rachel Reeves has never run a business or created a job - that's why she's failing
72 Comments
Dementia Has Been Linked To a Common Habit. Do You Do It?Memory Health | Sponsored Sponsored
Learn More
Undo
GB News descends into blistering clash as Labour minister left squirming
8 Comments
UK economy shrinks another 0.1% in disaster for Rachel Reeves
534 Comments
Medical Mystery Solved: Dementia and Memory Loss Has Been Linked To This...Memory Health | Sponsored Sponsored
Learn More
Undo
Rachel Reeves told to 'level with people' and admit she will have to put up taxes
49 Comments
Fury as Labour refuses to rule out fresh tax hikes targeting 1 group
514 Comments
The most accurate CGM for confident decisions in the moment.Dexcom | Sponsored Sponsored
Undo
POLL: Do you trust Rachel Reeves with Britain's economy?
143 Comments
'Needs to go!' New calls for triple lock 'replacement' in betrayal of pensioners
14 Comments
Woman puts banana peel on her arm. You won't believe what happened next!Good to know this | Sponsored Sponsored
Undo
Rachel Reeves is driving a runaway train - and she's about to run out of track
752 Comments
New hammer blow for Labour as firms now have 'no confidence' crisis will be solved
43 Comments
Retired? Pay One Price for Internet and TVInternet & TV Bundles | Sponsored Sponsored
Learn More
Undo
Sick note Britain! Welfare trap now means 'benefits pay ￡2,500 more than a job'
268 Comments
Rachel Reeves 'catastrophe' strikes as new economic bombshell rocks Labour
43 Comments
LAS VEGAS: She Lives Alone in a Shed – What You See Inside Gets Under Your...Tips and Tricks | Sponsored Sponsored
Undo
Kemi Badenoch blazes at 'immoral' cost of benefits bill as country braces for tax raids
307 Comments
Currys boss' chilling warning to Reeves: 'think very carefully' before you make it 'worse'
43 Comments
Dementia Has Been Linked To a Common Habit. Do You Do It?Memory Health | Sponsored Sponsored
Learn More
Undo
Labour's first year in power sees economic growth promises turn into broken dreams
104 Comments
Desperate businesses plead with Keir Starmer to promise no more tax increases
3 Comments
Medical Mystery Solved: Dementia and Memory Loss Has Been Linked To This...Memory Health | Sponsored Sponsored
Learn More
Undo
Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves blasted as some 'families up to ￡1,800 worse off'
76 Comments
Lower-skilled office workers can still come to Britain despite UK visa overhaul
15 Comments
The most accurate CGM for confident decisions in the moment.Dexcom | Sponsored Sponsored
Undo
Rachel Reeves urged to 'end the triple lock'
3 Comments
Campaigners rush to defend triple lock amid pensioner poverty warning
13 Comments
Rachel Reeves creates 'tax time bomb' that could shrink UK economy
31 Comments
Rachel Reeves has never run a business or created a job - that's why she's failing
72 Comments
GB News descends into blistering clash as Labour minister left squirming
8 Comments
UK economy shrinks another 0.1% in disaster for Rachel Reeves
534 Comments
Rachel Reeves told to 'level with people' and admit she will have to put up taxes
49 Comments
Fury as Labour refuses to rule out fresh tax hikes targeting 1 group
514 Comments
POLL: Do you trust Rachel Reeves with Britain's economy?
143 Comments
'Needs to go!' New calls for triple lock 'replacement' in betrayal of pensioners
14 Comments
Rachel Reeves is driving a runaway train - and she's about to run out of track
752 Comments
New hammer blow for Labour as firms now have 'no confidence' crisis will be solved
43 Comments
Sick note Britain! Welfare trap now means 'benefits pay ￡2,500 more than a job'
268 Comments
Rachel Reeves 'catastrophe' strikes as new economic bombshell rocks Labour
43 Comments
Kemi Badenoch blazes at 'immoral' cost of benefits bill as country braces for tax raids
307 Comments
Woman puts banana peel on her arm. You wo...Good to know this
Undo
by Taboola by Taboola
Sponsored Links Sponsored Links
Promoted Links Promoted Links
Retired? Pay One Price for Internet and TVInternet & TV Bundles
Undo
by Taboola by Taboola
Sponsored Links Sponsored Links
Promoted Links Promoted Links
LAS VEGAS: She Lives Alone in a Shed – What Y...Tips and Tricks
Undo
by Taboola by Taboola
Sponsored Links Sponsored Links
Promoted Links Promoted Links
Over 55? Pay One Cost for Internet and TV (Tak...Internet & TV Bundles
Undo
by Taboola by Taboola
Sponsored Links Sponsored Links
Promoted Links Promoted Links
“This report rightly exposes the political motivation behind the bill. It is not about protecting workers, but about rewarding union paymasters. The real cost will be paid by ordinary Britons in lost jobs, lower wages and fewer opportunities. Once again, it is working people paying the price of Labour.”
A government spokesperson said: “Too many workers are trapped in insecure, low-paid work, with weak protections that are poorly enforced.
“Through our transformative Plan for Change, this Government will deliver the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation, contributing to economic growth, and our measures have strong support from businesses and the public.”
SUBSCRIBE Invalid email
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. Read our Privacy Policy
Read Next