Election 2017 – Where do the parties stand on wages and holidays?

Days left until the general election and I am still not sure which party to vote for, but for me employment law issues are very important and therefore I need to know where the parties stand when it comes to employment issues.

Whether you are an employee or employer you would want to know which Party pledges to do what you support.

The Conservative Party confirmed that the national living wage will rise “in line with average earnings by 2022”. The Labour Party promises to increase the national living wage to “at least” £10 per hour by 2020, which would apply to all workers aged 18 and over, not just those aged 25 and over.

The Green Party would also “make the minimum wage a living wage for all”, aiming for it to be £10 an hour by 2020. They would also move towards a four-day working week.

Labour intends to introduce four new public holidays. These will be additional to statutory holiday entitlement.

The Labour Party would introduce a levy on salaries above £330,000, that would mean that companies paying staff more than this figure will pay a 2.5% surcharge, while salaries above £500,000 will be charged at 5%.

So, clearly the Parties are “all for” the national living wage and this would increase. However, I do not consider that employers would be too pleased to pay for 4 additional bank holidays and if we moved towards a four-day week, although this would be great for employees as they would have more of a life-work balance, how would this affect salaries?

For information on any employment or HR matter please contact our lawyers on 020 7903 6888 or email v.dass@davenportsolicitors.com.

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