This Tuesday, King Charles will preside over his first State Opening of Parliament as the monarch. Alongside the Autumn Statement in November 2023 and the Spring Budget in March 2024, this is occasion represents one of the few remaining opportunities for the UK Government to set out their priorities before the next General Election.

In 2019, the recently re-elected Conservative Government committed to introduce an Employment Bill which would “Build on existing employment law with measures that protect those in low-paid work”. Four years later, and the Bill has failed to materialise.

Against a backdrop of worker shortages and workers still struggling to make ends meet through the cost-of-living crisis, there are many challenges facing workers, employers and the Government.

After 13 years in power, there have been limited changes in recent years to improve workers’ rights, and the Work Foundation has set out three key tests for the King’s Speech to help judge whether the long-term policies and measures announced are likely make working lives better.

1. What plans have been put forward to improve job quality and design to improve access good, secure jobs?

Good Work has been on the Government agenda for almost a decade. Yet, many proposals later, we are still far away from making good work accessible across the country. The Government has prioritised low levels of unemployment, aiming to get jobseekers into ‘any job’.

In December 2022, Grant Shapps, who was then Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, announced that the Employment Bill had been put on hold. Instead, the Government's attention has turned to supporting Private Member Bills that aim to enhance working conditions.

However, issues in the labour market go deeper than these patchwork solutions addressed in the Flexible Working Bill and the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Bill can address. The labour market has gone through profound transformation since the Covid-19 pandemic. Addressing record levels of economic inactivity and the widespread issue of job insecurity requires a change in perspective.

The Government and employers need to work together to support policies that would make good jobs more accessible across the country.

2. How is the Government supporting people with health conditions to have a living income, either through welfare or work?

Earlier this year the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt used his Spring Budget to announce major reforms to disability welfare and workplace policy including the abolition of the much-maligned Work Capability Assessment (WCA) from 2026/27.

Hunt said his reforms would help thousands of disabled workers back into employment. However, Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments, which will assess fitness to work once WCAs are scrapped, share many of the same failings, and in some instances are worse for disabled claimants. It is also concerning that disabled people who are currently deemed unfit to work but are not eligible for PIP could lose out on vital support.

In September the Work and Pensions Secretary, Mel Stride, announced the Government’s intention to lower the WCAs threshold for Fitness for Work and suggested that remote working could allow some people who are currently deemed unable to work greater access to employment and financial independence.

While remote working practices do open up opportunities for disabled people previously shut out of the job market, they are still in their infancy. Only a minority of vacancies are for fully remote jobs, and they are very popular, leaving disabled candidates at a disadvantage.

Research conducted by the Work Foundation examining disability-inclusive hybrid and remote working, found that the many of the disabled workers we interviewed reported they had purchased their own specialist equipment or software to work at home. Such an expense may not be feasible for many of the disabled claimants who will be expected to find work under the government’s new plans.

The Government must use the Kings Speech to bring forward legislation that shows it is serious about reforming welfare to improve the lives of disabled people, rather than undertaking a cost cutting exercise.

3. How will the Government address skills and labour shortages in key sectors such as health and social care?

The public is rightly concerned about the state of the NHS, childcare, and social care services. A Health Foundation poll reveals that only a third of public (33%) perceives the NHS as providing a good service nationally. This dissatisfaction stems from funding cuts, the impact of the pandemic, and the pressures of an ageing society, all of which pose significant challenges to these essential services.

Staff shortages continue to constrain the capabilities of the NHS. Research indicates that the NHS has been grappling with a high number of unfilled vacancies for some time. As of June 2023, the British Medical Association reported 125,572 vacancies in secondary care across England. Of these, 10,855 were medical positions, which constitutes 7.2% of all medical posts. Similarly, the number of vacancies has increased in the adult social care sector.

The childcare sector echoes these concerns. Data from a survey by the Early Education and Childcare Coalition indicate that over half of the nursery workers are planning to leave the sector in the next 12 months. Simply increasing funding may not be sufficient, a planned investment in the workforce and substantial improvement in working conditions are necessary.

Over the years, the Government has carried out reviews and published a long-term workforce strategy for the NHS and a white paper on reforming adult social care. In October 2022, Skills for Care suggested that the decrease in filled posts was due to recruitment and retention difficulties in the sector, not a decrease in demand. Employers are struggling to recruit and retain the staff they need.

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