THERE is no clear-cut case for new employment legislation to be introduced in the island to protect worker’s rights, the Economic Development Minister told his fellow MHKs.
Unions joined forces ahead of September’s general election to press the case for TUPE to be brought in.
TUPE is the acronym for ‘Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment)’ – a piece of legislation that protects terms and conditions of employment if your employment transfers to another employer.
Introduced in the UK in 1981 following a European Community Council directive of 1977, TUPE protects areas like workers’ salary, hours and leave. It also means new employers need to consult about changes within 90 days of taking over.
Calls for its introduction here came following fears that the Steam Packet would be sold off with the launch of Mezeron’s now-abandoned rival freight service.
In the House of Keys, Brenda Cannell (Douglas South) asked Mr Shimmin whether his department’s review of employment legislation included consideration of TUPE. She said there was a ‘moral obligation’ to ensure island workers were not left behind other jurisdictions.
But the Minister said there was not a clear cut argument that TUPE acted in employees’ best interests. He warned against ‘blindly following something’ if it was not felt to be in the best interests of the Isle of Man.
He said the UK was presently reviewing the effectiveness of TUPE amid concerns by some businesses that it was ‘overly bureaucratic’ and provided ‘gold-plated protection’.
He pointed out that the European directive was not applicable to the Isle of Man and there was no obligation to pass legislation here to give effect to its provisions.
Mr Shimmin added: ‘There are arguments both for and against introducing additional provisions similar to the UK’s regulations. However, the department is of the view that the impact that new regulations might have on otherwise normal commercial activity would need to be very carefully considered, particularly at this critical time.’
He said his department’s employment law priorities were to introduce a Control of Employment Bill and an Equality Bill.
‘I would be prepared to look closely at the case for TUPE once those bills have been dealt with,’ he said.