Peter Kyle denies unfair dismissal policy U-turn is breach of manifesto pledge but unions and Labour MPs criticise decision
In their London Playbook briefing for Politico, Andrew McDonald and Bethany Dawson have some insight into how the employment rights bill U-turn was negotiated. They say:
We will never surrender … or maybe we will: This led to crunch meetings in the Churchill Room at DBT on Monday and Tuesday, chaired by Employment Minister Kate Dearden, with all the unions and business groups you’d expect in attendance. Over tea and sandwiches, a compromise position emerged which the two groups agreed to take back to their people for consideration: ditching the Day 1 idea in favor of a six-month qualifying period before an employee can claim unfair dismissal, reducing the current period from two years.
White smoke on Whitehall: On Thursday morning the deal was struck. Government officials insist the compromise position means it can now get the bill through the Lords and deliver the rest of the package (which still includes other rights from Day 1, such as sick pay). Most of the affiliated unions and the TUC are fairly content with where things have ended up, and one union insider told Playbook the final deal was “stronger” than the other option on the table, a statutory nine-month probation period that would leave workers without lots of protections.
What we’ve been clear about is that this won’t be dealt with within the Department for Education through our core schools budget. This will be dealt with across government.
So it is not government policy to absorb this from schools, to expect schools to make those cuts. That is not our position.
