UK 
United States
As the UK heads towards the 2024 General Election, the Conservative Party has unveiled a series of pledges aimed at boosting economic growth, supporting businesses, and reforming worker welfare.
Some of the most notable business-centric pledges include:
Further Reduction of National Insurance Contributions (NICs): Potentially abolishing NICs in the long term, with a continued focus on reducing the burden on workers and employers.
Increase in National Living Wage: Raising the minimum wage to £10.50 per hour by 2024, with an expanded age threshold.
Support for Self-Employed Individuals: Abolishing NICs for almost all self-employed people to help close the pension gap between self-employed and employed workers.
Childcare and Family-Friendly Policies: A £1 billion fund for high-quality, affordable childcare and enhanced redundancy protections for women returning from maternity leave.
National Skills Fund: A £3 billion fund to support education and training for individuals and small businesses.
Single Enforcement Body for Employment Law: Creating a single enforcement body to oversee employment law breaches and prevent worker exploitation.
Mandatory National Service: Introducing mandatory national service for 18-year-olds, including military/cyber defence placements or compulsory volunteering.
Expert Opinions
National Insurance and tax
The Conservative Party aims to reduce National Insurance Contributions (NICs) further, with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt indicating that additional cuts could be possible if economic conditions permit. This follows two cuts earlier in the year and aligns with a long-term vision of abolishing NICs to alleviate the "double taxation" burden on workers and employers..
Becky O’Connor, Director of Public Affairs at PensionBee, noted that reducing NICs would increase household savings and spending power.
O’Connor says: “Putting more money back into the pockets of workers is a clear move to garner support. But it is also one that will make a difference to individual households creating space for them to save or spend.
“This proposal would see the National Insurance rate decrease from 12% at the start of this year to 6%, enabling people to save more money for the future.”
For self-employed individuals, abolishing NICs could significantly benefit their pension savings, allowing them to save more for the future. However, the implications for state pension entitlements need to be clarified, according to O’Connor who states: “Self-employed workers are a frequently underserved group in pensions, missing out on the benefits of Auto-Enrolment and required to take on a more active role in building up their pension savings.
“This measure could be beneficial in closing the pension gap between self-employed and employed workers, as the former will be able to keep more of their take home pay and save it for the future. However, it’s unclear how this would affect their State Pension entitlement which is currently linked to an individual’s National Insurance record.”
Wages and minimum wage
The Conservatives have reaffirmed their commitment to increasing the National Living Wage to £10.50 per hour by 2024, which will simplify the wage structure by lowering the age threshold to 21 and above. While this increase benefits workers, it may pose challenges for smaller businesses struggling to meet the higher wage demands.
Childcare and family-friendly policies
The Conservative manifesto includes a £1 billion fund to create high-quality, affordable childcare options, including before and after school programs. This initiative aims to help working parents manage childcare costs and return to full-time employment, thereby expanding the talent pool available to businesses.
Additionally, the party plans to strengthen redundancy protections for women returning from maternity leave and introduce a new right to one week of leave for unpaid carers. These measures are designed to support work-life balance and improve employee retention.
Training and skills development
The Conservatives have proposed a £3 billion "National Skills Fund" to support high-quality education and training for individuals and small businesses. This fund is expected to help fill knowledge gaps in key industries, providing businesses with the skilled workforce needed to drive growth. Improvements to the apprenticeship levy are also mentioned, though details are sparse.
Business rates and support for small businesses
The Conservative manifesto pledges to maintain the VAT threshold and consider further increases. They have also promised to review business rates, particularly for small firms, and address poor payment practices by big businesses towards smaller suppliers.
Tina McKenzie, Policy Chair of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), welcomed these measures but called for a broader pro-enterprise tax offer to support small business owners, including directors of small limited companies.
“It was encouraging to hear the Prime Minister talk publicly about the talent, hard work and economic value of the self-employed,” says McKenzie.
She goes on: “To see a major party pledge to scrap self-employed NICs within the next five years is an important moment as a bold and welcome move to encourage entrepreneurship.
“We would, however, like to see a similar pro-enterprise tax offer to support the other major group of entrepreneurs – the one million directors of small limited companies who are a large, hard-working and job-creating part of the UK’s small business community. Meanwhile, expanding the Employment Allowance to cut employer NICs would also tackle rising employment costs and create new jobs.
“Small firms will be pleased to see the Conservative pledge not to raise capital gains tax and protect small businesses with entrepreneurs' business asset disposal relief. For many small firms their business is also their pension and it's right not to tax people all over again when they come to sell.”
McKenzie adds: “Whoever wins the next election, there is a lot to do to make sure the UK has the strong small business economy we all need.”
Employment Law and Worker Rights
The Conservatives plan to create a single enforcement body to oversee employment law breaches and prevent worker exploitation. They have also promised to consult on introducing flexible working by default, allowing workers to request more flexible contracts.
Chris Turner, Executive Director of B Lab UK, expressed disappointment that the manifesto lacked provisions to future-proof UK businesses. He advocates for the Better Business Act, which would empower directors to consider the interests of workers, customers, communities, and the environment alongside shareholders, promoting long-term business success and economic growth.
Turner comments: “Britain needs business at its best if we’re to find solutions to the major challenges facing the country. We’re disappointed to see that the Conservative Party has not included any real provisions to future-proof UK businesses in its manifesto, choosing instead to focus on removing what it calls the ‘burden’ of regulation.
“B Lab UK is campaigning for the Better Business Act; a change to the law that would empower directors to exercise their judgement in advancing the interests of workers, customers, local communities and the environment alongside shareholders.
“This is not only the right thing to do, but it would also enable businesses to thrive in the long run. Thousands of businesses across the UK have already committed to acting for the benefit of all. And research has shown that these business models could boost economic growth and attract investment if adopted at scale.
“We hope to work with all parties to make sure British business is fit for the future.”
National Service
Andrew Willis, Associate Director of Legal at Croner, says the Tories’ proposal to reintroduce a form of National Service for 18-year-olds raise lots of questions, all of which will need answering if the Conservative party wins the election.
“Initial information released by the Conservative party says that the scheme would require everyone who turns 18 to either complete a community training programme over 12-months or enrol in a year-long military training scheme”, says Willis.
“What is not clear is how this would work for the thousands of young people who have jobs or are completing apprenticeships. It’s not physically possible to be in two places at once, so would the national service requirement apply to anyone with a job or an apprenticeship?
“If it does, then areas of consideration would have to include whether the period of national service would mean a break in continuity of service in the young person’s job/apprenticeship, and whether employers would be compelled to allow the young person to come back to the exact same job once they have completed the required.
“With the community volunteering stream, what happens if there is a clash because their job requires weekend working? And would there be expectations and obligations placed on businesses and charities who have young people volunteering with them.”
Willis concludes: “One thing is clear – we need a lot more information about the practicalities of how such a scheme will work in practice. For now, we’ll just have to wait to see what happens at the General Election first.”
'Business as usual'
Amanda Glover, Associate in the employment team at Clarkslegal LLP says: "The Conservative party manifesto promises a business friendly environment where the burden of regulation will be minimised. However it does commit to balance out business freedom with proportionate protections for consumers and employees. Not surprisingly for a party which has been in government for the last 14 years, there is little on future employment legislation. The manifesto does say however, that the Conservatives will never introduce what it terms ‘French-style’ union rules, which they contend are a threat to job competitiveness and the economy.
"The manifesto states that a future Conservative government will continue implementing minimum service level legislation which ensures that certain services (such as border security and health services) continue to operate at a basic level during industrial action. It will also introduce primary legislation which makes clear that the protected characteristic of sex in the Equality Act 2010 means biological sex. Finally, the Conservatives intend to introduce a period of mandatory national service for all school-leavers aged 18, which will impact their ability to contribute to the labour market.
"Other than this, the employment focus is centred on four main themes:
- maintaining the national living wage in each year of the next parliament.
- reducing the levels of workers on sick leave/disability benefits by continuing to overhaul the fit note process – moving responsibility for this away from GPs to specialist work and health professionals.
- further restricting immigration even for employment purposes; and
- delivering a lifelong learning entitlement by enabling adults to fund new qualifications through a loan scheme.
Glover concludes: "In short, the Conservative manifesto appears to provide for business as usual."
Conclusion
The Conservative Party’s 2024 manifesto presents a range of policies aimed at supporting businesses, workers, and economic growth. However, it has faced criticism for not addressing specific needs of older workers and for lacking comprehensive measures to future-proof businesses.
HR leaders should prepare for potential changes in NICs, minimum wage adjustments, and enhanced worker protections, while also advocating for more inclusive and forward-thinking policies to ensure a resilient and thriving workforce.
Reactions to the manifesto launches of the other major parties can be found here:
