Government plans to remove unfair dismissal safeguards for new employees on their first day on a new job were revealed in several newspapers on Friday. The Financial Times headlines “First-day dismissal protections end”, as Labor “bows to pressure from businesses to soften its workers’ rights law”.
The Daily Telegraph is also leading the charge with Labor “dropping plans to allow employees to sue for unfair dismissal on their first day of employment”. The newspaper says this is the “second manifesto violation in as many days” after the “limit freeze on income tax” in the budget.
“Labor U-turn on employee rights” is the paper’s take on the Government’s plans to withdraw proposals for one-day dismissal protections. According to the newspaper, the move “has been criticized by Labor MPs but welcomed by the business community”.
Under a settlement agreement accepted by the TUC, the unfair dismissal limit will increase to six months, the Guardian reports. It is written that the TUC accepts this arrangement, with general secretary Paul Novak saying that other parts of the workers’ rights bill, such as “one day’s sick pay”, are an “absolute priority”.
The Times reports that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is facing a “revolt from Labor MPs” after scrapping first-day security, saying the policy was “championed” by former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner.
New ONS migration figures showing a decline in UK arrivals are the Metro’s main story. The headline states, “Just over 204,000 people are living in the UK”, adding that “asylum arrivals are rising” while “fewer people are coming here to study and work”. The newspaper quotes Sir Keir who “appreciates the decline in migration” as he “faces pressure from Reform UK over migrant arrivals.
The Daily Mail says Britain is facing a “brain drain”, citing migration data revealing that “young Britons are fleeing, while asylum seekers now account for almost half of total migration”.
Sir Keir’s defense of budget leads Independent. The paper’s top line is, “Keir Starmer forced to deny he misled public over record £26bn tax rise,” as he cites criticism from the Institute for Fiscal Studies in denying that Labor has broken its manifesto promise “not to raise taxes on working people”.
Rachel Reeves’ uncle Terry Smith told The Sun: “Britain is being robbed by my niece”, joining other critics who described the budget as “a gift to benefit claimants”. Reeves’ 73-year-old uncle joins “a long line of criticism,” the newspaper writes.
Meanwhile, the Daily Express is pressing ahead with calls from terminally ill campaigners who are pressuring the Lords to end the delay in passing assisted death legislation. He says amendments from colleagues who opposed the original bill are “stealing precious time and choice”, the newspaper writes.
Possible fresh leads in the Jill Dando murder have been reported by the Daily Mirror. The Crimewatch host was shot dead on his doorstep in 1999 and the newspaper says investigators are looking into “a newly emerged photograph” of who the paper claims shows “a Serbian killer”.
The headline on the front page of the Daily Star read, “Jack (Osbourne) plans big comeback”, citing I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! The contestant is “secretly filming a paranormal series in an attempt to become a big TV host”.
