Parliament faces calls for single employer to ‘deliver fairness and consistency’ for staff and MPs

GMB Union’s MPs’ and Peers’ Staff Branch has today launched One Parliament, One Employer, a campaign for a single employer for all MPs’ staff.

GMB is the largest union for MPs' staff with over 1,500 active members working for MPs.

At present, those staff are employed by 650 individual MPs with separate contracts, HR practices, and office cultures.

As a result, staff are without standardised pay and conditions and lack a centralised process to seek support or address grievances.

It also places additional pressures on MPs, who are expected to act as both elected representatives and employers.

A recent report by the Branch, Inequality at the Heart of British Democracy: Pay Progression and Inequality in Parliament, highlighted the ways in which the current system has failed to address inequalities in pay and progression for MPs’ staff.

The campaign proposes a solution by which MPs would continue to choose and manage their staff, while Parliament would provide an employment framework and protections.

Lisa Gillmore, Senior Parliamentary Researcher and GMB MPs' and Peers' Staff Branch President, said:

“The status quo in Parliament is detrimental to both staff and MPs and would not be accepted in any other workplace.

“One Parliament, One Employer is asking for a single, accountable employer that values every worker.

“We believe a single employer model - which is found in other Parliaments across the world - would deliver the fairness and consistency MPs and their staff deserve.”