Employment

This page highlights some of the current parliamentary material available on employment. This includes select committee reports, briefing papers on current legislation and other subjects produced by the parliamentary research services, and the latest Early Day Motions put down by MPs.

Standard Notes

DateDescription
31.07.2013Youth Contract
The Youth Contract was launched in April 2012 and combines existing schemes with new ones, all of which seek to support young people into sustainable employment.
17.07.2013Employment: Economic Indicators page
There were 29.71 million people aged 16 and over in employment in the UK in March to May 2013, up by 16,000 compared to the previous quarter and by 336,000 compared to the same period last year.
08.07.2013Employment law reform
The Coalition Agreement outlined a policy commitment to review employment law. . A number of significant changes to employment law have been or are due to be implemented by the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 and Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013. This note provides an outline of the changes.
27.06.2013Work Programme
Overview of the Government's main welfare-to-work scheme designed to tackle long-term unemployment.
25.06.2013The Living Wage
The living wage is an hourly rate of pay set annually by reference to the basic cost of living in the UK and London. Unlike the National Minimum Wage, employers may choose to pay the living wage on a voluntary basis. This note explains the living wage and how it is calculated, provides an overview of the arguments for and against its adoption and discusses the position in North America, where the living wage has been implemented, in several states, through local state law. A list of further reading is provided at the end.

Research Papers

DateDescription
17.07.2013Unemployment by Constituency, July 2013
This paper contains labour market figures for parliamentary constituencies, as well as a summary of the latest national and regional statistics.
12.06.2013Unemployment by Constituency June 2013
This paper contains labour market figures for parliamentary constituencies, as well as a summary of the latest national and regional statistics
31.05.2013Children and Families Bill Committee Stage Report
The Children and Families Bill introduces a wide range of legislation concerning adoption and children in care, aspects of family justice law, special educational needs, the Office of the Children's Commissioner for England, child care, statutory rights to leave and pay for parents and adopters, time off work for ante-natal care, and the right to request flexible working. This paper complements Research Paper 13/11 prepared for the Commons Second Reading.
15.05.2013Unemployment by Constituency May 2013
This paper contains labour market figures for parliamentary constituencies, as well as a summary of the latest national and regional statistics.
17.04.2013Unemployment by Constituency, April 2013
This paper contains labour market figures for parliamentary constituencies, as well as a summary of the latest national and regional statistics.

Select Committee Reports

DateDescription
25.01.2011The future of the Newport passport office.
Welsh Affairs Select Committee report [Commons]
09.03.2010Green Jobs and Skills.
Government response. Environmental Audit Select Committee; Department for Business, Innovation and Skills report [Commons]
03.03.2010Management and Administration of Contracted Employment Programmes.
Work and Pensions Select Committee report [Commons]

Early Day Motions

DateDescription
08.02.2012LOWER PAID AND PART-TIME EMPLOYEES
That this House acknowledges the Coalition Government's commitment to raising the threshold at which people begin paying income tax to 10,000 per annum; expresses the strong belief ...
25.01.2012WOOLWORTHS TRIBUNAL DECISION
That this House congratulates the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers, Usdaw, in supporting union members who are former employees of Woolworths by pursuing a protective ...
24.01.2012RETENTION OF SKILLS AND CONDITIONS IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
That this House recognises the need to retain skilled workers in the construction industry; notes with concern that several major employers in the construction industry are considering ...
11.01.2012WOMEN AND JOB SHARING
That this House welcomes the Capability Jane/Working Families report published in December 2011 entitled Job Sharing at a Senior Level: Making it Work; notes that the expectation of ...
10.01.2012HM REVENUE AND CUSTOMS CONTACT CENTRE TRIAL OF PRIVATE CONTRACTORS
That this House congratulates staff working in HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) contact centres on increasing the positive answering rate to 71 per cent. of calls to date in 2011-12; notes ...

Lords Library Notes

DateDescription
12.07.2013Debate on 18 July: Role of Government in Generating Economic Prosperity and Employment
This Note outlines recent data on the performance of the UK economy, announcements by the Government for capital spending, spending on research and development and action to help businesses gain access to funding. It also looks at proposals for the Government to take more of a role in managing growth, in particular whether the UK needs a more coherent and long-term industrial strategy.
28.06.2013Children and Families Bill (HL Bill 32 of 2013-14)
This Library Note provides information on the Children and Families Bill, which is due for second reading in the House of Lords on 2 July 2013. The Bill covers several areas, including: adoption and children in care; the family justice system; children and young people with special educational needs; the Office of the Children's Commissioner for England; rights to leave and pay for parents; the right to request flexible working; and early years education and child care.
24.12.2012Growth and Infrastructure Bill (HL Bill 72 of 2012-13)
The purpose of the Growth and Infrastructure Bill is to promote investment in infrastructure projects, reduce delays in the planning system and introduce a new employment status of employee shareholder. This Library Note provides background information for the second reading of the Bill in the House of Lords on 8 January 2013.
09.11.2012Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill (HL Bill 45 of 2012-13)
The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill includes measures for changes to competition policy, to employment law, and for reducing regulation, as well as provisions on the Green Investment Bank, directors' remuneration, copyright and planning. This Library Note provides background reading in advance of the Bill's second reading in the House of Lords.
21.12.2007Employment Bill [HL] (HL Bill 13, 2007-08). LLN 2007/010
Employment Bill. House of Lords Library Note 2007/010

POST Papers

DateDescription
25.10.2012Mental Health and the Workplace
This note summarises how the workplace affects mental health and vice versa.
03.10.2011An Ageing Workforce
This POSTnote examines the main challenges to the participation and productivity of older people in the workforce.
01.06.1995UK Teleworking, June 1995
Information and communications technologies are making the site of work less important, radically changing many working practices.

Glossary

  • Research Papers (RP) - briefings produced by the House of Commons Library on Bills, topical issues and regular statistics
  • Standard Notes (SN) - shorter, topical briefings from the Commons Library
  • Early Day Motions (EDMs) - formal motions submitted by MPs in the House of Commons
  • POST Notes - short briefing notes produced by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology
  • Lords Library Notes (LLN) - papers compiled by the House of Lords Library on Bills and for debates in the Lords