Shadow Minister for Employment

Shadow Secretary of State for Employment
Appointer	Leader of the Opposition

The office of Shadow Minister for Employment is a position on the United Kingdom's Official Opposition frontbench, and has occasionally been a position in the Shadow Cabinet.

From 1970 to 1995, the duty of the office holder was to scrutinise the actions of the government's Secretary of State for Employment and develop alternative policies. From 1995, the office shadowed the Secretary of State for Education and Employment. In 2001, the office was replaced by that of Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions after the creation of the Department for Work and Pensions.

In 2019, the office was reformed in the Shadow Cabinet of Jeremy Corbyn as Shadow Minister for Labour; later renamed Secretary of State for Employment Rights and, in the Shadow Cabinet of Keir Starmer, Shadow Secretary of State for Employment Rights and Protections. The position was vacant after the resignation of Andy McDonald, who was replaced by Alison McGovern in the November 2021 reshuffle.

List of Shadow Secretaries

Shadow Minister for Labour and National Service
Shadow Minister			Took office	Left office	Political Party	Leader of the Opposition
	Aneurin Bevan		15 July 1955	15 February 1956	Labour	Clement Attlee
						Hugh Gaitskell
	George Brown		15 February 1956	27 November 1956	Labour
	Alfred Robens		27 November 1956	12 November 1959	Labour
Shadow Minister for Labour
Shadow Minister			Took office	Left office	Political Party	Leader of the Opposition
	Alfred Robens		12 November 1959	November 1960	Labour	Hugh Gaitskell
	Frederick Lee		November 1960	6 December 1961	Labour
	Ray Gunter		6 December 1961	16 October 1964	Labour
						Harold Wilson
	Joseph Godber		16 October 1964	5 August 1965	Conservative	Alec Douglas-Home
	Keith Joseph	File:Sir Keith Joseph visits Llangefni and Caernarfon (1469270) Crop (cropped).jpg	5 August 1965	23 February 1967	Conservative	Edward Heath
	Robert Carr	File:Robert Carr2.jpg	23 February 1967	6 April 1968	Conservative
Shadow Secretaries of State for Employment and Productivity
Shadow Secretary			Took office	Left office	Political Party	Leader of the Opposition
	Robert Carr	File:Robert Carr2.jpg	6 April 1968	19 June 1970	Conservative	Edward Heath
Shadow Secretaries of State for Employment
Shadow Secretary			Took office	Left office	Political Party	Leader of the Opposition
	Barbara Castle	File:Barbara Castle, 1965 (cropped).jpg	19 June 1970	19 October 1971	Labour	Harold Wilson
	James Callaghan	File:James Callaghan 1970 (cropped).jpg	19 October 1971	19 April 1972	Labour
	Reg Prentice		19 April 1972	4 March 1974	Labour
	William Whitelaw		4 March 1974	12 June 1974	Conservative	Edward Heath
	James Prior		12 June 1974	4 May 1979	Conservative
						Margaret Thatcher
	Albert Booth		4 May 1979	14 July 1979	Labour	James Callaghan
	Eric Varley		14 July 1979	31 October 1983	Labour
						Michael Foot
	John Smith	File:John Smith in 1989.jpg	31 October 1983	26 October 1984	Labour	Neil Kinnock
	John Prescott	File:John Prescott official portrait (cropped).jpg	26 October 1984	13 July 1987	Labour
	Michael Meacher	File:Michael Meacher official portrait.jpg	13 July 1987	2 November 1989	Labour
	Tony Blair	File:Tony Blair in 1995.jpg	2 November 1989	18 July 1992	Labour
	Frank Dobson	File:Frank Dobson, Secretary of State for Health (cropped).jpg	18 July 1992	21 October 1993	Labour	John Smith
	John Prescott	File:John Prescott official portrait (cropped).jpg	21 October 1993	20 October 1994	Labour
	Harriet Harman	File:Harriet Harman (3x4 crop).jpg	20 October 1994	19 October 1995	Labour	Tony Blair
Shadow Secretaries of State for Education and Employment
Shadow Secretary			Took office	Left office	Political Party	Leader of the Opposition
	David Blunkett	File:David Blunkett DfEE (upscaled).jpg	19 October 1995	2 May 1997	Labour	Tony Blair
	Gillian Shephard	File:Gillian Shephard official portrait (cropped).jpg	2 May 1997	11 June 1997	Conservative	John Major
	Stephen Dorrell	File:Stephen dorrell mp -nhs confederation annual conferencepercent2c manchester-11july2011 - crop.jpg	11 June 1997	15 June 1998	Conservative	William Hague
	David Willetts	File:Rt Hon David Willetts MP.jpg	1 June 1998	15 June 1999	Conservative
	Theresa May	File:Theresa May (28235949166) (cropped).jpg	15 June 1999	18 September 2001	Conservative
Shadow Ministers for Labour
Shadow Minister			Took office	Left office	Political Party	Leader of the Opposition
	Jack Dromey	File:Official portrait of Jack Dromey crop 2.jpg	10 October 2016	12 January 2018	Labour	Jeremy Corbyn
	Laura Pidcock	File:Laura Pidcock MP speaking at the Britain is Broken rally (2019) (cropped).jpg	12 January 2018	10 September 2019	Labour
Shadow Secretaries of State for Employment Rights
Shadow Secretary			Took office	Left office	Political Party	Leader of the Opposition
	Laura Pidcock	File:Laura Pidcock MP speaking at the Britain is Broken rally (2019) (cropped).jpg	10 September 2019	12 December 2019	Labour	Jeremy Corbyn
	Rachael Maskell	File:Official portrait of Rachael Maskell MP crop 2.jpg	7 January 2020	6 April 2020	Labour
Shadow Secretaries of State for Employment Rights and Protections
Shadow Secretary			Took office	Left office	Political Party	Leader of the Opposition
	Andy McDonald	File:Official portrait of Andy McDonald MP crop 2.jpg	6 April 2020	27 September 2021	Labour	Keir Starmer
Shadow Ministers for Employment
Shadow Minister			Took office	Left office	Political Party	Leader of the Opposition
	Alison McGovern	File:Official portrait of Alison McGovern MP crop 2.jpg	4 December 2021	8 July 2024	Labour	Keir Starmer