Enforcement of workers' rights

Abstract

The principal focus of our proposals in the Manifesto for Labour Law is to deliver decent standards at work via collective bargaining. An important role nonetheless remains for the law in setting minimum standards on wages, working time, equality, health and safety, dismissal and so on. A large body of evidence indicates that the system at present is failing to deliver the rights it ostensibly guarantees. Although fees for bringing employment tribunal (ET) claims have, for the moment, been abolished in the wake of the UNISON judgment of the Supreme Court,54 much more needs to be done to ensure that legal standards are not mere statements of legal theory but are realised in practice for all workers – and that employers who abuse workers’ rights do not gain an advantage over those who respect them.