MPs staffers demand employment rights under next Speaker
2 min read
Members of staff moving between offices in Parliament can see their employment history wiped clean - losing sickness, redundancy and maternity/paternity rights.180 staffers for MPs have signed a letter, published in The House magazine, calling on the next Speaker to address this "fundamental flaw" in the system
Dear Speaker candidates,
Congratulations on your decision to stand as Speaker. It’s a position that has wide reaching implications for everyone in the house and so we all will be watching the election process closely.
One of the issues we have noticed arise during the hustings is around centralising our HR management. The responses to date have focused on the important issue of bullying and harassment, but we would also like to hear from you about what can be done to tackle the unfair system of penalising staffers who move from one MP’s office to another.
Whilst we understand that employment rights need to be built up, the unique environment in the House of Commons means that any moves between MPs offices, as part of natural career progression, wipes our employment history clean. This means we lose our sickness, redundancy and maternity/paternity rights with every move.
This stops some people applying to get experience with another MP or applying for promotion.
We are also in the same position if our MP retires, loses his/her position, or we leave because of 'difficulties' within the office that are outside of our control.
Some of us have been affected by the loss of these rights. For example, a researcher who achieved a promotion earlier this year was diagnosed with cancer four weeks after starting work for her new MP and, despite having worked continuously for more than three years for MPs, was not entitled to full sick pay, exacerbating an already distressing experience.
We believe this is wrong; we should enjoy the same rights as any other person in the UK who moves within an organisation. And we ask you to commit to addressing this fundamental flaw in our system if elected as Speaker.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Kind Regards
180 MP staffers
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