イギリス労働党政権の労働政策

世界中でいろんなことが起こりすぎて、イギリスで久しぶりに労働党政権ができたことにあんまり気が行ってなかったのですが、その労働党の労働政策のマニフェストを見ていくと、労働者概念に関するこれまでの三分法を二分法に簡素化するという政策を提示していたんですね。

LABOUR’S PLAN TO MAKE WORK PAY

これの「片手落ちの柔軟性を終わらせる」（Ending “one-sided flexibility”）には、ゼロ時間契約とか解雇即再雇用といった問題と並んで「労働者の単一の地位」（Single status of worker）ってのがあって、現在のイギリスのemployee,worker,self-employedの三分法をやめて、労働者と純粋自営業者の二分法に簡素化するという一節が盛り込まれています。

Single status of worker

The UK has a three-tier system for employment status, with people classified as employees, self-employed or ‘workers.’

The Taylor Review noted this framework often fails to provide clarity for workers and business. Determining which category you are in – and your access to various employment rights and protections – requires knowledge of complex legal tests and an “encyclopaedic knowledge of case law”. This means many workers find it difficult to get a clear picture of where they sit and what protections they are owed, while business can also struggle to properly place staff and comply with legal obligations.

The rise of new technologies and ways of working has exacerbated this challenge, with workers and businesses struggling to apply the complex legal framework to novel forms of working and operating.

In some extreme cases, the ambiguity has been deliberately used to cut costs and avoid legal responsibilities. Labour believes our three-tier system of employment status has contributed to the rise of bogus selfemployment, with some employers exploiting the complexity of the UK’s framework to deny people their legal rights. The complexity has meant businesses and workers are reliant on lengthy legal processes to resolve issues.

Therefore, we will move towards a single status of worker and transition towards a simpler two-part framework for employment status. We will consult in detail on a simpler framework that differentiates between workers and the genuinely self-employed.

We will consult in detail on how a simpler framework that differentiates between workers and the genuinely self-employed could properly capture the breadth of employment relationships in the UK, adapt to changing forms of employment and guard against a minority of employers using novel contractual forms to avoid legal obligations, while ensuring that workers can benefit from flexible working where they choose to do so. We will also evaluate the way flexibility of ‘worker’ status is used and understood across the workforce and the way it interacts with and is incorporated into collective agreements.

We will also consider measures to provide accessible and authoritative information for people on their employment status and what rights they are owed, tackling instances where some employers can use complexity to avoid legal obligations.