The government has committed to implement the “Make Work Pay” programme, described by Labour as “the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation”.
As part of this, Labour has committed to introducing an Employment Rights Bill within its first 100 days of government. Summer slipped away unnoticed, and at the time of writing, we wait with baited breath for the detail behind the campaign promises.
Labour’s majority means they have the ability to push for sweeping reform. At the same time, the energy sector has been left feeling battered from other political commitments, and employers more generally have expressed concerns about the potential impacts of more radical reforms.
Against this backdrop, what impact will some of the key diversity-driven proposals have in reality?
Working flexibly
Flexible working may become a default right for all employees, with employers required to agree – not simply consider – requests unless they can justify refusal. This is among a feast of “day one” rights proposed – new employees will never have been so protected.
This comes at an interesting time where we have seen many employers, including those in the energy sector, look for more office presence – it is easy to see how tensions will arise.
Additionally, following similar protections elsewhere in Europe, workers may be allowed to “disconnect” from work communications outside of their contracted hours. It’s unclear exactly how these rights will operate in practice, particularly in offshore and on-call environments.
Arguably, they have the potential to make the energy sector feel more accessible to a wider range of candidates, however, with experience still king for many businesses at a mature business state, will that balance out?
Rights for women and families
Despite various initiatives, it is no secret that the oil and gas industry has struggled to move the dial on gender diversity. Under the Bill, protections for new mothers will be further strengthened by making it unlawful to dismiss a woman for six months after their return from maternity leave, except in narrow circumstances.
With many energy businesses facing a reality of future restructuring in coming years, this may give increased job security to women at an otherwise vulnerable time. The counterpoint to this may be the need to manage resentment from other workers, and ensuring that these women’s contribution is not undervalued.
Larger companies could be required to produce Menopause Action Plans that set out how affected employees will be supported. This has the scope to be a very positive step for employees and employers within the sector, where holding on to skills and experience is proving more important than ever.
Closing the pay gap
Measurement of the gender pay gap is well established. The future will now involve a wider range of reporting, as the government plans to require larger businesses to report on their disability and ethnicity pay gaps.
These steps will take years to have any measurable impact in contributing to change, but in the short term we expect to see reporting drive a greater focus in businesses looking to understand the particular reasons pay gaps exist in their case. By adopting the adage “What gets measured gets managed’, might we therefore see a greater focus on underrepresented groups and their interests?
Worker representation
In recent years, we witnessed a renaissance of interest in union representation from segments of the offshore workforce. Labour plans to enhance collective worker representation by reducing the support threshold needed for union recognition, and to impose a positive duty on employers to remind employees of their right to join a union – all of which may well contribute to trade union presence in the energy sector continuing to grow.
While not a move that will inherently mean diversity issues being pushed forward, employees who feel these enhanced rights are not being honoured may also be more likely to ask for union support, whether with a claim or to give wider leverage with an employer.
The full list of expected employment changes is considerable – not least of which is making unfair dismissal a day-one right, subject to allowance for probationary periods.
As HR teams wrestle with the competing priorities and the challenges of supporting late-life oil and gas interests, these will be interesting times.
Niahm Morrison is an associate at CMS.
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