Newington's Tiffany Burrows looks at how the Government is handling the Taylor Review.

What does work in 2037 look like to you?

Do you think of what the future will look like – the rise of automation, artificial intelligence, virtual reality and the fourth industrial revolution?

Or do you think of how people will work – increasing cases of working flexibly or from home, a growing “gig economy”, and more and more people choosing to be self-employed?

Of course, these are not mutually exclusive visions of the future, and so are often intertwined. The CBI predicted in 2009 that “new forms of partnership and collaboration, and new contractual relationships between employees and employers, are already emerging and will become more extensive”.

The gig economy has never been far from the pages of the press over recent years, and how to tackle cases of exploitative practices has soared up the policy agenda.

In her first year as Prime Minister, Theresa May commissioned Matthew Taylor to examine modern working practices. This report built on the work by entrepreneur Julie Deane OBE, who was tasked by David Cameron to understand the motivations, challenges and the necessary support for the self-employed.

Taylor’s Good Work report was published over the summer, with recommendations including defining what constitutes being a “worker”, and aligning tax status with employment status. Whilst the Prime Minister welcomed the report and its findings, we are still waiting for the Government to officially respond.

Ministers were originally aiming for a Conservative Party Conference announcement, followed by a consultation in the autumn. Officials have already made recommendations to Ministers and these are still being carefully considered. It is anticipated that an announcement will be made around Christmas.

In this political vacuum, Parliament certainly isn’t waiting. The Work and Pensions and BEIS Committees are continuing to scrutinise the future world of work, currently holding a joint inquiry into the Taylor’s review. They have already held oral evidence sessions with Taylor himself, “gig economy” firms, and the Director of Labour Market Enforcement.

It will certainly be interesting to see how May’s Government will respond to both the Taylor Review and the Committees’ inquiry with the political climate so different to when the report was commissioned. Mrs May is no longer the emboldened Prime Minister she was on the steps on Downing Street last year, laying out her vision for a “Britain that works for everyone”. She has lost the majority the Conservatives had following the 2015 election, and it is easy to see any attempts to radically change the status quo entrenched in employment law being thwarted by a handful of Tory backbenchers (think back to the u-turn following Philip Hammond’s NICs Budget earlier this year).

Matthew Taylor himself hasn’t advocated for radical legislative change. In his recent appearance in front of the two committees, he said the approach of the report was “more nudge than shove”, and envisaged many measures being introduced without legislation. However, the Conservatives, and to a certain extent the Opposition, do not have a clear (or united) policy on the future world of work, or what shape reform of employment law to reflect the 21st Century should take – making legislative implementation of new policy fraught with danger for the Government.

Lurking in the background is Brexit, which affects how the Government takes forward Taylor’s recommendations in two ways. Firstly, as May’s agenda is dominated by Brexit, her domestic ambitions seem increasingly out of reach.

Secondly, the UK’s flexible labour market is widely recognised as a factor in attracting investment into the UK. Against the backdrop of Brexit, it is critical to maintain relative flexibility; a lot of MPs and businesses will not want additional burdens that could potentially jeopardise this.

The Government is clearly taking its time to respond, and the next few months will be crucial in determining the way employment will be defined for the next generation.

Newington has considerable experience of working in this area - if you would like advice on how your organisation is affected by the Taylor Review or other topics mentioned in this article, please get in touch with Tiffany Burrows, [email protected] or Newington’s Director of Public Affairs, Chris White, [email protected].