The summer is now upon us (at least I hope it is by the time that you read this, as I write on a day of hailstones, rain and flooding in Cornwall) and it seems that we are in for a period of ‘quiet reflection’ when it comes to employment law.

At the beginning of the year there was excitement, if that’s the correct word, at Donald Trump being elected in the United States. This was on the back of the European Union referendum result in June 2016, and there were quite a number of suggestions about implications for the US and UK economies.

There was a feeling that greater protectionism would creep in, together with suggestions that, if the UK were to be punished for Brexit, then it may retaliate by pressing an economic advantage – lower tax, more flexible labour regulation – to compete against the EU. Naturally, many employment lawyers feared what this may mean for their clients and for their own jobs.

That much of this was against a backdrop of the Prime Minister’s Downing Street speech last summer, in which she spoke about job security, inequality and her desire to correct these, did not seem to be ironic to many.

We then had the general election campaign. Much reassurance was given to the public about the need and desire to both protect and extend employment rights and worker protection. I am not sure about the extent to which any of the political parties were pressed on this, as all of them were putting forward manifestos that took this position. To the extent they were, few details were really forthcoming. To be fair, Labour perhaps set out more on this than the other political parties, but on the issue of Brexit they all seemed to retreat into commitments to maintain existing protections for workers. One might ask how many politicians are able to spell out what those protections actually are; and, if you did ask, how many of them took a contrary position on EU regulation when it came to the referendum?

Since then, we have had the Taylor review. Assurances were given, or claims made, as to the extent to which Downing Street was going to back and implement the proposals made by Matthew Taylor. Certainly in the earlier part of this year, it was being touted around that his proposals would be implemented in full. The Prime Minister took the opportunity to attend the launch of the review and give a press conference. The proposals would be given serious consideration and the Government would respond later in the year. Not exactly a ringing endorsement.

We appear to be in the position of being able to recognise the problems – job insecurity; declining wages and productivity; difficulty in enforcing existing rights; and concerns about rights being eroded – and every politician speaks the same language of reassurance on those problems. The difficulty arises when solutions are presented. This is a surprise, in that many of the problems are not moral ones but practical ones. If, for example, job security is the issue, one can grant rights and put in place a mechanism by which they can genuinely be enforced. Each solution may not be the perfect solution, but one ends up with something better than one started with. That is progress.

Perhaps ministers and opposition politicians will have time over the summer to reflect on the problems identified and the reassurances they give, and that these will translate into proposals and solutions. If nothing else, these are issues that affect many, many people. It has been suggested that there may be a general election in the autumn …

Alex Lock, DAC Beachcroft LLP