Parliamentary ping-pong over ‘rights for shares’

The House of Commons has voted to reinstate the chancellor George Osborne’s controversial “rights for shares” proposal into the Growth and Infrastructure Bill, less than one month after it was rejected by the House of Lords.

During the Lords’ rejection of the proposal in March, it was the subject of fierce criticism by a number of peers. Even the right wing Conservative peer Lord Forsyth said that the proposal “has all the trappings of something that was thought up by someone in the bath”.

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “This proposal should have been quietly killed off today. It has no support among employers and was heavily defeated in the House of Lords by a wide coalition including prominent Conservative and Liberal Democrat peers.

“Employment rights should not be for sale. Employers do not want to buy them, and employees will not want to sell them. What is worse is that it’s only real practical use is as a tax dodge.

“We will continue to lobby peers to defeat this proposal again in the next round of parliamentary ping-pong.”

Osborne wants to introduce a new owner-employee contract, which allows owners to award shares worth between £2,000 and £50,000 to their staff. In return, the employee would give up certain rights, including unfair dismissal, redundancy, training rights and also the right to ask for flexible working.

www.tuc.org.uk/economy/tuc-22104-f0.cfm

www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmhansrd/cm130416/debtext/130416-0001.htm#column_172