According to a briefing by the TUC, plans put forward by the Conservative Party's Economic Competitiveness Policy Group would mean scrapping the working time regulations, opting-out from Europe's Social Chapter and reviewing the health and Safety at Work Act. John Redwood, who chaired the group, claims that the changes would lead to significant savings.
The TUC, however, says that none of them could be implemented without breaching current EU legal requirements. It also questions whether the savings claimed are likely to add up. Firstly, they do not include the benefits of regulation such as the reduced costs due to injury and illness that flow from effective health and safety policies.
Secondly, companies would have to scrap benefits such as flexible working which are highly valued by staff, particularly working women.
The briefing lists some of the rights under threat from a repeal of the working time rules and an opt-out from the social chapter. These include:
- the right to take four weeks paid holidayÂ
the right to take emergency unpaid leave such as the need to care for a sick child
the right to take unpaid parental leaveÂ
the right for part timers to be treated equally to equivalent full time staff.
To download the briefing, go to: www.tuc.org.uk/extras/redwoodproposals.pdf