Kate Dearden

Kate Dearden

Labour (Co-op) — Halifax

Speaking in the House of Commons on 16 September 2025

Debate

Employment Rights: Impact on Businesses

Contribution

I am happy to come back to the right hon. Member on the particular social care interests and concerns that he might have. Improving worker wellbeing, supporting productivity, reducing workplace conflict and creating a more level playing field for good employers would grant significant benefits, worth billions of pounds per year. That is why delivering the benefits of the Bill would offset the costs. That assessment is shared by organisations such as the Resolution Foundation. The £5 billion figure from our impact assessment, which the hon. Member for Spelthorne mentioned, is a top-end estimate of that cost, and will largely represent a direct transfer to the lowest paid in society, with the central estimate close to £1 billion. Even if we take that high-end estimate, the costs are therefore likely to be less than 0.4% of our national wage bill, and could even be as low as 0.1%. That is our best estimate at this stage.

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