Welcome to our general election issue, which should have reached your desk roughly a month before voting takes place. Many of you will be excited by the prospect of an election which is – again – the most important in a generation and/or the least predictable ever and/or the one that will turn the post-war political consensus on its head. On the other hand, many will be bored by what seems to have been the longest campaign in a generation and/or since the second world war.

In 2010 we invited the three main political parties to provide their manifesto proposals on employment law. We gave them a free hand, only setting a word limit, and simply printed what we were given. For this election we have done the same and we reproduce the results in this issue. We have done so because employment law is of fundamental importance to the state and health of the UK. It is where political, economic and social policy collide. An ability to earn a living and have a place and role in society are of huge importance to most people. The economy and its ability to support the demands and aspirations of the nation is of equal importance. Employment law can facilitate or hinder these. It can also protect, inflame, support and heal various interests in society. Therefore it is important that the promises and proposals of those who seek to govern are given proper scrutiny.

We also thought it would be interesting to draw on the wealth of expertise and knowledge we have within the employment law community and specifically within ELA’s Legislative and Policy Committee. As an organisation ELA is non-political. One of its fundamental aims is to promote the best practice of employment law. As such it would not be appropriate to comment on the principle of tribunal fees, for example, although the method by which they are administered might be.

The Legislative and Policy Committee can draw from a deep well of expertise, being made of up representatives from the Bar, solicitors who represent employers and employees, as well as members from trade unions, in-house lawyers and the voluntary sector. Not only are they all employment law experts, but they also all practise, so have real-life experiences to bring to bear.

What we publish is an expert’s view of where employment law should be reformed, based on experience and looked at with a non-partisan eye. It is interesting to compare what we as employment lawyers see as important and what politicians do.

One of the ways in which ELA seeks to inform and shape policy is through surveys of members’ views. As I write this editorial, ELA is undertaking a major survey on the future direction of employment tribunals across the UK. This encompasses many of the issues raised by David Latham, former President of the Employment Tribunals (England & Wales), including establishing an Employment and Equalities Court, changing the legal test in equal pay cases and implementing a state enforcement mechanism for tribunal awards.

Whatever colour or shade of Government we have post-general election, ELA will continue to campaign for sensible reform of employment law and to support the work and interests of employment lawyers.

Alex Lock, DAC Beachcroft