Rayner unveils Labour crackdown on harassment of interns and volunteers

Angela Rayner is unveiling Labour’s new plans today to crack down on abuse of interns and volunteers in the workplace, pledging to give women “the best start at working life”.

In a keynote speech at the Chartered Management Institute’s women’s conference, Labour’s deputy leader is outlining plans to make employers liable if they are made aware of an incident impacting contracted interns and volunteers and fail to take action.

It comes at a difficult time for the party as it both pushes back on claims its flagship workers’ rights reform package has been watered down, and defends admitting defecting Tory MP Natalie Elphicke given her controversial past comments on sexual assault.

In part of the speech released in advance, Rayner said:  “Sexual harassment remains rife in workplaces across Britain. For any employee, but especially interns and volunteers, experiencing sexual harassment can destroy confidence and ruin early careers.

“Women leaders in business are already leading the way to stamp out sexual harassment from their workplaces, with organisations like the CMI creating positive workplace cultures where women thrive.

“The next Labour government will strengthen the legal duty requiring employers to take steps to prevent sexual harassment at work and will ensure this duty applies to contracted interns and volunteers as well as employees.

“My message to working women is clear: with our New Deal for Working People, a Labour government will have your back.”

Last September, Labour also committed to strengthening the legal duty for employers to prevent sexual harassment before it starts. A Labour government would require employers take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment within their organisations.

It comes just after the Unite union claimed a new document on Labour’s New Deal was a “betrayal” of plans, with leader Sharon Graham claiming plans had been watered down to the point that they were “unrecognisable”.

But a party spokesperson told LabourList: “Labour’s New Deal for Working People is a core part of our mission to grow Britain’s economy and raise living standards across the country.

“A Labour government will need to hit the ground running and that is why we have been strengthening the proposals to implement our commitments. If elected, we will bring forward legislation within 100 days off entering government.”

Labour has faced repeated questions recently about whether the New Deal has been watered down. Sources have confirmed some new materials will be published soon about the proposals, though suggested this was about consolidation and repackaging rather than any substantive changes.

A spokesperson told journalists last week nothing had changed since the National Policy Forum last year – but multiple changes were made then. Some are only now attracting significant attention, such as Labour’s acceptance of some zero-hour contracts where workers agree to them.