Today, Wednesday 17 July 2024, we saw the state opening of Parliament by King Charles III. This is a historic ceremony formally marking a new parliamentary year, and which sees the Monarch setting out the Government’s agenda for 2024-25.
It is significant this year, as it is the first state opening of parliament under a new Government in fourteen years.
We know from the Labour manifesto published in the lead up to the General Election, that there will be significant employment developments over the next five years (you can read about these here) but today, the King’s speech talked about a new partnership between business and working people.
The King’s speech referenced the Government legislating for a new deal for working people by banning exploitative zero-hour contracts, enhancing existing and providing greater working rights, and to introduce legislation on race equality that would enshrine the full right of equal pay in law.
Getting people back into employment following the pandemic was also a focus in the speech, as well as placing urgency on climate change and the creation of new job opportunities from leading technologies of the future. Appropriate legislation will also be introduced to place requirements on those developing the most powerful artificial intelligence models.
A new organisation called Skills England will be introduced that will bring together the Government, businesses, unions and training providers, forming a partnership with employers being central to it, and there will also be reforms made to the apprenticeship levy.
As parliament continues to sit until the summer recess, which is expected to be 30 July 2024, we will continue to monitor the developments and share with you the latest updates. We will also be reading through the accompanying 105-page publication that was published shortly after the speech was delivered, so that we can fully understand the extent of the developments announced today, which includes the introduction of a new Employment Bill. Watch this space, as we digest the information and report back on what we can expect as part of this new employment Bill.
