Breakfast Forum newsletter – March 2010
Three parliamentary candidates meet local employers
TUPE to be discussed in April

At our March Breakfast Forum, the first meeting of the decade, members were welcomed back with a foretaste of election fever. Damian Collins, Conservative, Lynne Beaumont, Lib Dem and Donald Worsley, Labour, grappled with a challenging barrage of questions on the employment problems faced by an incoming government, with Tony Bertin acting as question master.

With elections looming in May, the debate, though always lively, was constructive and well informed. A full audience of local employers were able to engage with the candidates on topics as diverse as the success and failures of the Blair/Brown administration, beating the recession, selective education, the exploitation of migrant workers in the care sector and how to re-engage a jaundiced and disaffected electorate. These were only a fraction of the questions waiting to be asked as sadly we ran out of time; however the candidates were clearly enjoying themselves and all volunteered to come back for an action replay another time.

16 April - TUPE
Initially scheduled for February, TUPE will be the subject of our next forum on 16 April. We will be discussing the legal and HR implications of TUPE, the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations. These important regulations preserve employees' terms and conditions when a business or undertaking, or part of one, is transferred to a new employer. TUPE can arise in some unforeseen circumstances, sometimes simply as a result of a successful bid for a new client contract.

As usual the event is free (including a cooked or continental breakfast), and will take place at the Rose and Crown, Elham, from 8 to 9.30am. If you are interested in attending this forum, please contact anne@employment-relations.co.uk, tel: 01303 840001.

For those of you not lucky enough to enjoy the debate with the parliamentary candidates at our March forum, the following is a round-up of the issues covered:

Employment law achievements of the Blair and Brown years
On the plus side the candidates all felt the minimum wage and working time directives had been the landmarks of the last decade. On the minus side the rate of worklessness in Shepway has gone up by 74% over the last ten years. One in five working age people are now not working, and this culture of welfare dependency has a big social cost. Unemployment should not be an option or a lifestyle choice. It was felt measures have not been brought in early enough in this recession to alleviate unemployment; the government needs to put more effort into increasing manufacturing; the introduction of additional employment regulations is making it more expensive for employers, especially SMEs, to hire staff

Does the selective education system serve employers well?
The answer was obviously yes from some and no from others. All agreed that the greater choice now offered by academies was welcome, both in terms of parental choice and what best suited different students, although it was still early to judge how successful the new academies have been. There were also strong views expressed on the role of parents (education starts in the home); on building the ethos of education and training and on restoring to teachers the powers to discipline in the classroom.

The UK has fallen from third to 19th in the literacy league 2007 and the CBI chairman has accused our “shameful” education system of failing pupils.
The candidates agreed that more needed to be done at a time when one fifth of children can’t read and write, according to one of the candidates. Suggestions included starting formal education later (in Europe this is at age six or even seven); putting in more resources to decrease class sizes, which in turn will improve discipline and respect. However it was agreed that the CBI had not recognised the substantial improvements that have been achieved in work place and skills training and the success of the Higher Apprenticeship schemes.

The exploitation of migrant workers as cheap labour in the care sector is rife. Should the Gang Master Licensing Act (which regulates the farming and food sector) be extended to the private care sector?
Migrant workers in the care industry should be treated like everyone else. If they come from within the EU they are not migrants as they are allowed to work in any EU country. If from outside the EU (many come from the Philippines) it could be asked why we need them and why these jobs cannot be filled by UK workers. Often it is because the care industry cannot get anyone local to fill these jobs. The situation should be monitored and employees should be free to stand up and say when something is wrong. Migrants’ work contracts often allow them only to work for one specific employer, which leads to exploitation.

Has the sex discrimination legislation achieved its purpose? If the equality agenda has been successful, how is it that only 20% of MPS in the UK are women (as opposed to 50% in the Welsh Assembly and nearly 40% in the Scottish Parliament) and only 10% of directors in the UK’s top 100 companies are women?
The equality legislation has benefitted women but it has not gone far enough. It is an on-going process but we still have a long way to go. In politics, no-one was in favour of all-women shortlists. Women stand as candidates not because they are women, but because they feel they are the best person for the job.

What are the various parties going to do to re-engage voters who have not voted in the past recent elections, and what are they planning to address the Non of the Above movement? (Millions of British voters refuse or simply don't bother to vote, feeling that nobody represents them but that they have no alternative choice.)
People are interested in politics, but have lost faith in what politicians can do for them. It’s a big challenge which candidates can address by being honest. The House of Commons has had an appalling past two years and it is high time to sweep aside corruption and have MPs’ expenses publicly listed. Politicians can only develop strategies by listening to their constituents. MPs sign up to their party’s manifestos and should support them. But MPs should be free to vote on local issues affecting their constituency without being forced to follow the party line through the whip system.