Rayner's ‘jobs police' could intimidate political enemies, Lords warn
Angela Rayner's workers' rights overhaul risks creating an employment police force capable of intimidating political enemies, peers have warned.
Lord Carter of Haslemere, a former general counsel to the Prime Minister, has claimed that new powers designed to give ministers the ability to search and arrest people for labour market offences could be abused.
He said: 'Effectively, the Secretary of State will, through his or her enforcement officers, have his or her own employment rights police force to direct operationally in whatever way he or she chooses.
'This is in contrast, for example, to our regular police forces and the National Crime Agency, which are both operationally independent of the Home Secretary.'
He is demanding that the so-called 'jobs police', which will be introduced as part of the Employment Rights Bill, 'enjoy complete operational independence from ministers and their advisers' to avoid politicians abusing their new powers.
Lord Carter said: 'It is not impossible to imagine an unscrupulous Secretary of State requiring them to operate in a way that is not in the public interest and might even constitute an abuse of power, to target an unfriendly media organisation for political purposes or for some other wholly inappropriate purpose.'
'Real teeth'
The former government lawyer is among a growing number of peers to have raised concerns about the planned strengthening of workers' rights in recent months as the House of Lords examines individual parts of Ms Rayner's Bill.
The latest focus has been on the Fair Work Agency, which is set to become a new super regulator that will fold in several existing units.
Current plans will see the new body have 'real teeth' to punish companies that treat staff badly or fall foul of the new rules.
This means the agency will have the ability to inspect workplaces, levy fines or bring proceedings in the employment tribunal on a worker's behalf.
While supporters argue that it will make the system less fragmented by combining several units into one, critics have raised fears that the new body could spook small business owners who don't have large legal teams.
The package of reforms, spearheaded by Ms Rayner, includes handing staff full employment rights from the first day in a job and strengthening the power of unions in the workplace.
Businesses could, for example, face thousands of pounds in penalties if they fail to tell staff in writing that they have a right to join a union.
Addressing fears about the new enforcement body, Baroness Jones of Whitchurch, the business minister, argued that 'while the Secretary of State will set the overarching direction and priorities of the fair work agency through its enforcement strategies, they will not direct the day-to-day operation of staff'.
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The implementation period has been doubled to a maximum of four years from royal assent, the point it is rubber stamped into law, rather than the initially suggested two years. If the Bill was to pass later this year that would mean it might not be until 2029, potentially coinciding with the end of this Government's parliament, that assisted dying was being offered. Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, who is the parliamentarian behind the Bill and put forward the extended timeframe, has insisted it is 'a backstop' rather than a target, as she pledged to 'hold the Government's feet to the fire' on implementing legislation should the Bill pass. The extended implementation period was one of a number of changes made since the Bill was first introduced to the Commons back in October. – What other changes have there been? On Friday, MPs bolstered the Bill so people with eating disorders are ruled out of falling into its scope. Another amendment, requiring ministers to report within a year of the Bill passing on how assisted dying could affect palliative care, was also approved by MPs. Previously, a High Court safeguard was dropped, with the oversight of judges in the assisted dying process replaced with expert panels. The change was much criticised by opponents, who said it weakened the Bill, but Ms Leadbeater has argued it strengthens it. At the end of a weeks-long committee process earlier this year to amend the Bill, Ms Leadbeater said rather than removing judges from the process, 'we are adding the expertise and experience of psychiatrists and social workers to provide extra protections in the areas of assessing mental capacity and detecting coercion while retaining judicial oversight'. Changes were also made to ensure the establishment of independent advocates to support people with learning disabilities, autism or mental health conditions and to set up a disability advisory board to advise on legal implementation and impact on disabled people. Amendments added earlier this month during report stage in the Commons will also see assisted dying adverts banned if the Bill becomes law, and a prohibition on medics being able to speak to under-18s about assisted dying. – Do we know much more about the potential impact of such a service coming in? A Government impact assessment, published earlier this month, estimated that between 164 and 647 assisted deaths could potentially take place in the first year of the service, rising to between 1,042 and 4,559 in year 10. The establishment of a Voluntary Assisted Dying Commissioner and three-member expert panels would cost an estimated average of between £10.9 million and £13.6 million per year, the document said. It had 'not been possible' to estimate the overall implementation costs at this stage of the process, it added. While noting that cutting end-of-life care costs 'is not stated as an objective of the policy', the assessment estimated that such costs could be reduced by as much as an estimated £10 million in the first year and almost £60 million after 10 years. – Do healthcare staff have to take part in assisted dying? It was already the case that doctors would not have to take part, but MPs have since voted to insert a new clause into the Bill extending that to anyone. The wording means 'no person', including social care workers and pharmacists, is obliged to take part in assisted dying and can now opt out. Amendments to the Bill were debated on care homes and hospices also being able to opt out but these were not voted on. Ms Leadbeater has previously said there is nothing in the Bill to say they have to, nor is there anything to say they do not have to, adding on the Parliament Matters podcast that this is 'the best position to be in' and that nobody should be 'dictating to hospices what they do and don't do around assisted dying'. – What will happen next? Friday's vote in the Commons makes it more likely for the assisted dying Bill to become law, now that it has the backing of a majority of MPs. But this is not guaranteed, and first it must continue on a journey through Parliament. The Bill now heads to the House of Lords, as both Houses of Parliament must agree its final text before it can be signed into law. During the next stages, peers are expected to put forward amendments to the Bill. If the Commons disagrees with these amendments, this will spark a process known as 'ping pong' which will continue until both Houses agree over its text. – Will the Bill definitely become law? There is a risk that the Bill could be stuck in a deadlock between the House of Commons and House of Lords, as it goes back and forth in disagreement. If this continues until the current session of Parliament ends, then the Bill would fall. Ms Leadbeater told journalists on Friday she hoped there were no attempts to purposefully wreck it by peers. 'I really hope there are no funny games, because the process has been extremely fair,' she said. The Spen Valley MP said she did not know when the current parliamentary session would end, but suggested it could stretch into late 2025, giving her Bill the best part of six months to complete the full parliamentary process. Speaking about the end of the session to reporters, Ms Leadbeater said: 'I am not imagining that is going to be imminently, but it could be before the end of the year.' One member of the House of Lords, Bishop of London Dame Sarah Mullally, has already indicated she is against it. The Church of England bishop said peers 'must oppose' the assisted dying Bill when it reaches them because of the 'mounting evidence that it is unworkable and unsafe'. – What about assisted dying in the rest of the UK and Crown Dependencies? The Isle of Man looks likely to become the first part of the British Isles to legalise assisted dying, after its proposed legislation passed through a final vote of the parliament's upper chamber in March. In what was hailed a 'landmark moment', members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) in May voted in favour of the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill, backing its general principles. It will now go forward for further scrutiny and amendments but will become law only if MSPs approve it in a final vote, which should take place later this year. Any move to legalise assisted dying in Northern Ireland would have to be passed by politicians in the devolved Assembly at Stormont. Jersey's parliament is expected to debate a draft law for an assisted dying service on the island for terminally ill people later this year. With a likely 18-month implementation period if a law is approved, the earliest it could come into effect would be summer 2027.
