As was widely expected, the Government has been defeated in the House of Lords over plans to allow employees to give up some of their workplace rights in exchange for shares in the company.
Last week, ministers voted the shares for rights scheme back into the Growth and Infrastructure Bill after the Lords introduced an amendment to the Bill to scrap all plans for the programme.
However, yesterday (April 22nd) peers voted against the amendment and defeated it by 69 votes, although before the vote it was suggested that workers should get free legal advice before taking part in the scheme.
The Treasury has now tabled two new amendments offering to provide written details of any proposed scheme and a seven-day “cooling off” period to help workers make up their minds.
The Bill will now go back to the Commons again and the game of “parliamentary ping-pong” will continue between the two houses until a resolution is reached. The ‘match’ started in March, when the Lords first defeated the Government over the issue.
Described by Shadow Business Secretary Chukka Umunna as an “ill-thought-out and bad idea” and by independent peer and QC Lord Pannick as “unrealistic”, the scheme was first mooted by the Chancellor George Osborne last year but has met with strong opposition.
Although the Government has been at pains to point out that it would be wholly voluntary for employees, critics are convinced that it would cause unrest in the workforce and would “frustrate the very purpose of employment rights”.
Meanwhile peers also rejected plans to change the role of the Equality and Human Rights Commission yesterday, voting by a majority of 30 to defeat the Government for a second time. This Bill will now also return to the Commons.