Great Britain: low impact of the independence of Scotland on industrial relations and employment law

The Scottish and British governments have agreed the terms of a referendum in 2014 on whether Scotland should become a separate country with its own independent government and state. This raises the prospect that industrial relations and employment law in Scotland might take their own course, thus diverging from those of the rest of Britain. By Gregor Gall, Research Professor of Industrial Relations and Director of the Work and Employment Research Unit (WERU), University of Hertfordshire. (Ref. 120614)
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If there was to be a ‘yes’ vote delivered in 2014 for independence, the current ruling party of government in Scotland, the Scottish National Party (SNP), is likely to dominate the political landscape for a number of years to come. This is because it is the biggest political party and is the main force of the campaign for independence for Scotland. Thus, an SNP government is likely to be continued come the next Scottish parliament elections in 2016.

Consequently, the policies of the SNP are the

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