Series of employment legislation reforms proposed following public consultation

The Department for Enterprise is proposing changes to employment legislation in the Isle of Man having received support for a broad range of reforms following public consultation.

The consultations, which covered areas such as family rights, zero hours contracts, and whistleblowing, were conducted by the Department in summer 2022 and sought views from the business community and general public on proposals to reform legislation of these matters in the Isle of Man.

Following clear support for a range of proposals, the Department has announced plans to bring forward changes which will update the Island’s employment legislation so that it further aligns to international best practice.

Lawrie Hooper MHK, Minister for Enterprise, commented:

‘The Department made a clear commitment in the Island Plan to update the Island’s employment legislation, with family rights, whistleblowing and zero hours contracts being the first matters to be reviewed.

‘Each of the consultations sought to understand views on proposals to update important aspects of employment legislation so that the rights of employees, and the duties and responsibilities of employers are clearly understood and recognised.

‘As with any legislation reform, understanding the views of the Isle of Man business community and general public is an important part of the process to ensure any changes proposed balance the needs of both employees and employers.

‘This raft of proposed changes is part of a wider commitment from the Department to improve the Isle of Man’s employment legislation, with plans to consult on further matters over the coming 12 months, including areas such as statutory annual leave entitlement.

‘Delivering meaningful improvements to the Isle of Man’s employment legislation to ensure it is fit for purpose and keeping pace with an ever-evolving landscape is key to solidifying our stance as a secure, vibrant and sustainable to live, work and do business.’

The proposed changes include (but are not limited to); introducing rights to shared parental leave (including adoption), a number of changes to whistleblowing law to align with the UK and extension of the right to a written statement of terms of employment to all workers.

As a first step the Department for Enterprise is working with the Attorney General’s Chambers to bring a Bill to the Legislative Branches in May 2023.

Summary reports displaying the results of each of the three consultations, and the proposed reforms, are available on the Isle of Man Government Public Consultation Hub.