Bosses beware: workers’ right to disconnect is a sign of things to come

Good morning. A Labor government would crack down on out-of-hours emails, WhatsApps and phone calls from bosses, although exemptions would be granted where necessary.

A senior Labor official recently called the newsletter ‘useless’, although I believe they were making a specific comment on the content that day, rather than general guidance as to whether or not the back-and-forth that accompanies the writing of today’s diary notes would be banned under Keir Starmer.

Some serious thoughts on politics and on the Conservatives’ internal debates on election strategy.

Work strictly from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The UK labor market is set to become a hot political topic, for the simple reason that it is the political space where the gap between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer is widest, both in terms of style and of substance.

This underpins the sweeping changes planned for the UK labor market, including a ban on ‘fire and rehire’ and, based on the scoop by Jim Pickard and Delphine Straussthe introduction of a “right to disconnect” from e-mails, SMS, WhatsApp messages and the like outside business hours, as has already been introduced in France, Italy, Portugal and elsewhere.

Taken together, the big change that we can say with certainty would happen under a Labor majority government is that unions and individual workers would have far more power and be harder to suppress than they currently are. You can expect a Conservative government that is worried about Labour’s inroads into business to start talking a lot more about it.

I think the ‘right to disconnect’ in particular will travel widely: politics is a speaker that, whether you shake your head at the prospect or count the days until a Labor government implements it, will be widely recognized by people in most workplaces. . For better or worse, this will define how many people see Keir Starmer’s Labor Party.

And rightly so: at the end of the day, the biggest change that Starmer’s Labor proposes to make to the British economic model is to dramatically increase the power of workers and unions. Yes, Labor also has an ambitious plan to green the UK economy, but the Tories will also have a rival plan. There won’t be a viable ruling party that doesn’t offer a path to net zero (and thank goodness for that). But Labour’s position in the labor market East distinct and therefore worthy of attention.

Another subplot to watch: how the Liberal Democrats play it all. A Labor-Liberal Democrat coalition of some form, either with Liberal Democrat ministers or with Liberal Democrat support on bills and key votes, but with the Liberal Democrats playing no role in government, would largely, I think, quite harmonious. There’s a lot that both sides agree on, especially on the big issues facing the UK right now – from net zero to the importance of childcare in boosting UK growth. United, through the fight against crime. (Although there is a reasonable argument as to whether both sides are equally engaged in reality.)

But the role of trade unions, sectoral collective bargaining and new rights at work are issues that clash in various ways with the different traditions of the two parties. If after the next election we end up with a Labor government relying on the support of the Liberal Democrats – which has to be one of the most likely outcomes in my view – then one area of ​​friction may well be over plans of the labor market.

She preferred the uncontrolled decline

One of the reasons to expect a change of government – in addition to the rather significant leadership we had in the local elections – is that almost every day there is new news showing how Rishi Sunak is far from being able to say that he has delivered on his five commitments to the British public in the next election. Delphine and Jim have you covered on another one of these:

According to a survey of employers, staff shortages in education and health are worse than in any other area of ​​the UK economy, as public sector wages are even lower than those offered in the private sector.

In the healthcare sector, 55% of employers had vacancies that were hard to fill, compared to 40% of all private sector employers, according to the survey released on Monday.

Part of the reason the government seems unlikely to be able to say it has cut NHS waiting lists is due to understaffing. And there is no indication that the government will be able to claim a significant reduction in the number of people coming to the UK via small boats. If the government keeps its promise to halve inflation by the end of the year, it will probably only be in the skin of its teeth.

The main consequence of this is that it increases the chances that people will see the next election as one in which a tired Conservative government must be ousted by the force best placed to do so locally. This was the neglected story of local elections: the incredible efficiency of tactical voting by Labour, Liberal Democrats and Greens.

But one of the political consequences of this is Sunak’s strategy for the election, to run on the principle, “I kept those promises. . . now look at what I promise to do next,” is in jeopardy. As a result, there will inevitably be a dispute over what he should do instead.

Priti Patel’s attack on Sunak for overseeing the Conservative Party’s ‘managed decline’ is one of them. (Although many may look at what Sunak inherited and think, hey, managed decline is an upgrade from chaotic, rudderless, accelerated decline.) Suella Braverman also talks about the importance of reducing net migration, what she will do in a speech today. (Although I personally am not convinced that the government needs a sixth pledge that it cannot reliably deliver, but different hits for different people.)

I will have more to say about Braverman’s speech tomorrow: but one thing to expect from the whole Conservative Party is a more public debate on electoral strategy, given that “Plan A” must surely be in doubt.

Now try this

I had a wonderful weekend, largely because instead of watching Arsenal lose to Brighton yesterday afternoon, I was cooing to an adorable toddler.

I spent Sunday morning reading FTWeekend in bed: I particularly enjoyed Monica Mark’s Fascinating and captivating look at South Africa’s copper thieves and the criminal underworld behind themLife & Arts essay by Brooke Masters on the imminent end of affirmative actionAnd a brilliant mini-profile of Imran Khan.

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