Launch of the Modern Workplaces
Consultation
Monday 16th May 2011
The speech was given by the Home Secretary, Theresa
May.
WELCOME
I’m delighted you are all able to join us to
launch the Modern Workplaces Consultation.
Today marks a significant step in the
Government’s drive to transform and modernise our workplaces to
meet the demands of the 21st century workforce.
CURRENT SYSTEM OUTDATED
All of us here in this room will appreciate in
some way or other how much we need truly modern workplaces.
And you will all realise that the current
system has failed to keep up with the demographic and economic
changes of the 21st Century.
People are working longer. More women are
entering the workforce. There are more families with both parents
working or single parent families where that parent is working
.
Right now, most people simply do not have the
choice or flexibility they need to meet the demands of the modern
workplace.
A NEW APPROACH
We want a new approach – one where the
state has less of a controlling hand over the way parents take
their leave.
Where employers and employees can sensibly
discuss their plans and find a pattern of work that suits the
family and the business.
And where equality in the workplace is seen as
critical to a successful business and a balanced economy.
FLEXIBLE WORKING AND PARENTAL LEAVE
Take flexible working. Introducing the right
to request flexible working for some was a positive step. But by
limiting that right to parents and carers, it perpetuated the idea
that flexible working is some form of special treatment.
We want to extend the right to request
flexible working to all. We want it to work for older people and
people with disabilities or chronic conditions such as rheumatoid
arthritis – helping to shift behaviour away from the traditional
nine to five model of work that can act as a barrier to so many
people and that often doesn’t make sense for many modern
businesses.
Our new system of flexible parental leave will
also allow parents to make the right choices for their family. And
it will help end the state-endorsed stereotype of women doing the
caring and men earning the money when a couple start a family.
So if fathers want to take more of a role,
they can. If mothers want to return to work earlier, they can. If
parents want some time at home together at the birth of their child
they can. What matters is that they will have a choice.
But crucially, employers would have the
ability to ensure that the leave must all be taken in one
continuous period if agreement cannot be reached.
EQUAL PAY
Our programme for modernisng our workplaces
also tackles the injustice of unfair pay. Four decades after the
1970 Equal Pay Act, it is a travesty that women in full time work
still earn over twelve percent less than men, or twenty two percent
less if part-time employees are included.
So it’s clear that legislation alone is not
enough. We have made equal pay a vital part of our agenda, and we
believe transparency is the key tool for achieving it.
The Equality Act 2010 made gagging clauses
that prevent employees discussing their pay unenforceable.
Building on this we are currently working with
employers to encourage voluntary, non-legislative action to improve
transparency on pay and on equality more generally.
Employers have made great strides in ensuring
equal pay, and we must recognise and build on that progress.
We also know that unequal pay is not just down
to employers paying women less.
The picture is much more complicated than
that, and a proper approach to this issue needs to reflect this
fact. That is why for example, we are improving careers advice – so
that young people are aware of the financial consequences of the
career decisions they make.
Of course, tough action is needed where
employers have not taken adequate steps to ensure they pay men and
women fairly, and have clearly broken the law.
So we will be requiring pay audits for firms
that are found guilty of pay discrimination - unless they can show
a good reason why one is not necessary.
CHANGES WILL BRING BENEFITS TO BUSINESS
I know there will be some who will question
this focus on fairness and flexibility in the current economic
climate.
We disagree. This is not a burden, it’s an opportunity.
And some of the most successful companies in the world are
leading the way. They are trailblazers, changing the culture of
work.
Of course, their not just doing this because it makes moral
sense; they’re doing it because it makes good business sense.
Look at BT - 80% of their staff now work flexibly and as a
result the company has saved £500 million on property costs.
They’ve seen productivity up 20%, a marked decline in absenteeism
and 97% of mothers returning to work after maternity leave.
So it is clear that a modern approach can really benefit modern
businesses.
We are of course aware of the need to avoid unnecessary burdens,
particularly on SMEs. But I believe this approach does offer
business what they need - access to a larger and more flexible pool
of labour. In these tough economic times, companies need to be able
to draw on all available talent.
This matters to us all.
That’s why we are starting this consultation – because we want
to listen to what you have to say. We want to make sure we find the
answers that work for everyone – from board room directors, to
entrepreneurs running small firms to parents worried about fitting
in the school run.
I hope all of you here today will contribute to that
conversation, and will encourage others to do the same.