Employee-Shareholder Status

In October 2013, the government plans to introduce a new “Employee Shareholder Status”, under its Growth and Infrastructure Bill. In return for shares with a minimum value of £2,000, employees will give up a range of statutory employment rights, including the right to claim unfair dismissal and statutory redundancy pay. Note that the exclusion will not extend to automatically unfair or discriminatory dismissals.

In March 2013, this proposal — opposed by 92% of all respondents to consultation — was comprehensively defeated twice by the House of Lords, Lord Adonis describing the death of this proposal as “an act of mercy to the government; let alone to the employees adversely affected by it”, but it was resurrected by the House of Commons.

For more information see Chapter 2. For a detailed critical analysis of the proposal see Justice Deferred, a critical guide to the Coalition’s employment tribunal reforms by Renton and Macey, published by the Institute of Employment Rights.