‘They’re paid to do a job’: Lloyd’s of London boss raises alarm over Labour’s workers’ rights plans

The boss of Lloyd’s of London has sounded the alarm over plans to introduce a raft of employee rights, saying it was vital to “get the balance right”.

John Neal, who has been working hard to re-employ workers in the three-century insurance market after the pandemic, said: “The employee needs to understand they are being paid to do a job.”

He warned that employers who impose too much pressure with new rules risk losing jobs or being forced to move jobs overseas.

The Labour Party wants workers to have the right to ask for a four-day working week and the ‘right to switch off’. That is why the Labour Party strongly supports working from home.

Speaking at the Labour party conference yesterday, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said the plans amounted to “a new deal for working people” to “make work pay”.

However, many businesses are concerned that the plans – which also include the right to dismissal protection from day one – will deter people from hiring staff.

Neal acknowledged that in the past the pendulum had sometimes swung too far against employees – for example, when they were expected to be available at all times.

He said that “couldn’t be right because they need a break.”

But Neal told the Mail: ‘You want the British plc to be alive and kicking, if it’s alive and kicking it has to grow, if it grows it creates jobs. If you put too much pressure on companies, making them very, very expensive,

If you focus on it, you risk running into two issues: are they going to restructure or layoff, are they thinking about outsourcing work?

“And we don’t really want to find ourselves in these debates. We need to make sure that the employee feels valued in terms of compensation and benefits.

“But at the same time, the employee has to understand that they’re being paid to do a job and that job has to be done well. So we just have to find the right balance.”

Lloyd’s offers its employees some flexibility, but they must be in the office at least three days a week, and for some, it is even four days.

He said attendance at the building was “pretty much back to normal” from Tuesday through Thursday, and that Monday was “fairly fast.” Fridays were always “a bit quiet” for Lloyd’s, even before the pandemic, he said.

Neal said that presence is essential to a business.

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