Analyse the Extent to Which Legislation of the New Labour Governments Since 1997 Has Delivered Fairness in the Uk Workplace.

Analyse the extent to which legislation of the New Labour governments since 1997 has delivered fairness in the UK workplace.

Since the election of the New Labour Government in 1997, the workers’ employment rights have become much wider (Dickens, 2002). Many people that were not covered by any protection in the past have been covered by the new regulations within employment rights (Blyton & Turnbull, 2004). The statutory employment rights have been mainly changed and improved through the Employment Relations Act 1999 and Employment Act 2002, as well as the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 (Dickens, 2002). The main improvements in the employment rights and employee protection have been with the introduction of

‘’right to National Minimum Wage; ‘’whistle blower’’ (public interest) protection; right to be accompanied in grievance and disciplinary hearings; working time protection; right urgent family leave; right to parental leave; part-time workers’ right to equal treatment; protection for fixed term contract workers’’ (Dickens & Hall, 2003).

New Labour has introduced National Minimum Wage, Working Time Regulations, Family friendly policies, Reform Individual employment rights, and other directives as a result of co-operation with European Union (Williams & Adam-Smith, 2006). This essay is firstly going to look at the new minimum standards implemented by the New Labour and how the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 has improved justice and equality in the organisations within the UK. Then it will look at how European Union directives have influenced the introduction of new employment legislation in Britain. Finally, partnerships between unions and employers will be discussed and it will be looked at the Employment Relations Act 1999 and how it has delivered fairness in companies in the UK.

First of all, the New Labour Governments were concerned with implementing the minimum standards in employment relationship. The most well known legislation is the National... [continues]

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