Baroness O’Grady of Upper Holloway (Lab)

My Lords, I oppose Motion E1, which is unnecessary. Under the Employment Rights Bill, employers can still dismiss workers fairly—for example, as they can now if they are incompetent or there is misconduct or a redundancy situation. But without the day one protection proposed by the Government, when workers move to a new job, they would continue to bear the risk that they can be sacked at whim. I encourage noble Lords to put themselves in the shoes of a worker, who in good faith leaves a secure job where they have completed the qualification period with protection against unfair dismissal to take up a new post, and who then finds themselves sacked, out on their ear, stripped of a livelihood for no good reason. I also remind noble Lords that many groups of workers are already protected against unfair dismissal from day one, as their dismissal would be deemed automatically unfair—for example, if they are pregnant, on family leave or are a trade union rep, or, indeed, if they are a whistleblower. The Government simply intend to extend that protection to all workers. In addition, if someone thinks they have been unfairly dismissed because of race, sex or another protected characteristic, this could be discrimination. They could make a claim to an employment tribunal for both discrimination and unfair dismissal, and for that discrimination claim, workers do not have to meet that qualifying period of two years. Finally, so far, I have heard little mention of the thorny issue of job mobility in this country, which economists agree is a significant barrier to economic growth and productivity. In the UK, reports show that job mobility has fallen badly—according to one report, dropping by 25% over a period of barely two decades. Poor job mobility is bad for workers—they have less chance of improving their wages if they stick in the same job—and bad for the economy, because we are failing to move workers fast enough into areas of growth. Under the previous Government, we saw insecure contracts at work soar. In 2012, the Conservative-led Government shamefully doubled the qualification period for protection against unfair dismissal to two years, stripping workers with less service of protection at the stroke of a pen. I am very conscious of the employer lobby that has mobilised in support of this amendment. But when I look back on employers’ opposition to the national minimum wage, to equal pay for women and to stronger health and safety rights, it is clear that business lobbies do not always know what is best for Britain. Labour’s manifesto commitment is clear—to deliver day-one rights in full. I hope that noble Lords will join me in opposing this amendment.