The Conservative Party manifesto…

Conservative Party

Employment Law

The Conservative Party published its election manifesto on 11 June 2024 and has made the following pledges relating to employment law.

• They will create 100,000 more high-quality apprenticeships in England every year by the end of the next Parliament, paid for by closing university courses in England with poor outcomes for students.
• The manifesto pledges to “work to end human trafficking and modern slavery”, but no further details are given.
• All school-leavers aged 18 would be required to complete a period of mandatory National Service. There would be a choice between taking up a paid competitive placement in the armed forced or cyber defence, or carrying out the equivalent of one weekend a month (25 days a year) volunteering in the community for a year. This could include volunteering as a special constable, NHS responder or RNLI volunteer.
• The fit note process for ill employees would be overhauled and responsibility for issuing fit notes would be moved away from GPs towards specialist work and health professionals.
• The Conservatives would continue to reduce employee National Insurance contributions, with a pledge to cut them by a further 2p by April 2027. Class 4 National Insurance contributions, payable by self-employed contributors, would be abolished entirely by the end of the next Parliament. The rate of income tax would not be increased.
• The government would continue with the implementation of minimum service levels under the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 (Strikes Act), which it says will limit the impact of industrial action on public services and balance the ability of workers to strike with the rights of the public.

Business immigration

In their manifesto, the Conservatives propose:

• A new “binding, legal cap” on migration each year for five years. The independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) would recommend the level of the cap each year, which Parliament would then vote on. The remit given to the MAC would be to bring migration down to “sustainable” levels, for it to fall year-on-year over the next five-year Parliament and to prioritise the economy, considering both the costs and benefits of migration. The cap would apply to worker and family visas and not to “temporary work routes”, such as seasonal agricultural workers.
• Raising the Skilled Worker minimum salary thresholds and family visa income requirements automatically with inflation.
• Requiring migrants to undergo a health check in advance of travel and increasing their Immigration Health Surcharge or requiring them to buy health insurance if they are likely “to be a burden on the NHS”.
• Increasing all visa fees and removing the student discount to the Immigration Health Surcharge (currently £776 for each year of the visa for students, compared to £1,035 for each year of the visa for other non-discounted visas).

Michael Nadin is a partner and employment law specialist at DFA Law.  If you have any questions about the information set out above, or employment law in general, please contact Michael on 01604 609 566 or by email here.