# Secretary of State for Employment

The secretary of state for employment was a position in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. In 1995, it was merged with secretary of state for education to make the secretary of state for education and employment. In 2001, the employment functions were hived off and transferred to the secretary of state for social security to form the secretary of state for work and pensions.

## Minister of Labour (1916–1940)

| Name | Term of office | Term of office | Political Party | Prime Minister |
| John Hodge | 10 December 1916 | 17 August 1917 | Labour | David Lloyd George (Coalition) |
| George Henry Roberts | 17 August 1917 | 10 January 1919 | Labour | David Lloyd George (Coalition) |
| Sir Robert Horne | 10 January 1919 | 19 March 1920 | Unionist | David Lloyd George (Coalition) |
| Thomas James Macnamara | 19 March 1920 | 19 October 1922 | Liberal | David Lloyd George (Coalition) |
| Sir Anderson Montague-Barlow | 31 October 1922 | 22 January 1924 | Conservative | Bonar Law |
| Sir Anderson Montague-Barlow | 31 October 1922 | 22 January 1924 | Conservative | Stanley Baldwin |
| Tom Shaw | 22 January 1924 | 3 November 1924 | Labour | Ramsay MacDonald |
| Sir Arthur Steel-Maitland, Bt | 6 November 1924 | 4 June 1929 | Conservative | Stanley Baldwin |
| Margaret Bondfield | 7 June 1929 | 24 August 1931 (lost seat 1931) | Labour | Ramsay MacDonald |
| Sir Henry Betterton, Bt | 25 August 1931 | 29 June 1934 | Conservative | Ramsay MacDonald (1st & 2nd National Min.) |
| Oliver Stanley | 29 June 1934 | 7 June 1935 | Conservative | Ramsay MacDonald (1st & 2nd National Min.) |
| Ernest Brown | 7 June 1935 | 13 May 1940 | Liberal National | Stanley Baldwin (3rd National Min.) |
| Ernest Brown | 7 June 1935 | 13 May 1940 | Liberal National | Neville Chamberlain (4th Nat.Min.; War Coalition) |

## Minister of Labour and National Service (1940–1959)

| Name | Term of office | Term of office | Political Party | Prime Minister |
| Ernest Bevin | 13 May 1940 | 23 May 1945 | Labour | Winston Churchill (War Coalition) |
| R. A. Butler | 25 May 1945 | 26 July 1945 | Conservative | Winston Churchill (Caretaker Min.) |
| George Isaacs | 3 August 1945 | 17 January 1951 | Labour | Clement Attlee |
| Aneurin Bevan | 17 January 1951 | 23 April 1951 (resigned) | Labour | Clement Attlee |
| Alfred Robens | 24 April 1951 | 26 October 1951 | Labour | Clement Attlee |
| Walter Monckton | 28 October 1951 | 20 December 1955 | Conservative | Sir Winston Churchill |
| Walter Monckton | 28 October 1951 | 20 December 1955 | Conservative | Sir Anthony Eden |
| Iain Macleod | 20 December 1955 | 14 October 1959 | Conservative | Sir Anthony Eden |
| Iain Macleod | 20 December 1955 | 14 October 1959 | Conservative | Harold Macmillan |
| Edward Heath | 14 October 1959 | 12 November 1959 | Conservative | Harold Macmillan |

## Minister of Labour (1959–1968)

| Name | Term of office | Term of office | Political Party | Prime Minister |
| Edward Heath | 12 November 1959 | 27 July 1960 | Conservative | Harold Macmillan |
| John Hare | 27 July 1960 | 20 October 1963 | Conservative | Harold Macmillan |
| Joseph Godber | 20 October 1963 | 16 October 1964 | Conservative | Alec Douglas-Home |
| Ray Gunter | 18 October 1964 | 6 April 1968 | Labour | Harold Wilson |

## Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity (1968–1970)

| Name | Name | Portrait | Term of office | Term of office | Political Party | Prime Minister | Prime Minister |
| | Barbara Castle | | 6 April 1968 | 19 June 1970 | Labour | | Harold Wilson |

## Secretary of State for Employment (1970–1995)

| Name | Term of office | Term of office | Political Party | Prime Minister |
| Robert Carr | 20 June 1970 | 7 April 1972 | Conservative | Edward Heath |
| Maurice Macmillan | 7 April 1972 | 2 December 1973 | Conservative | Edward Heath |
| William Whitelaw | 2 December 1973 | 4 March 1974 | Conservative | Edward Heath |
| Michael Foot | 5 March 1974 | 8 April 1976 | Labour | Harold Wilson |
| Albert Booth | 8 April 1976 | 4 May 1979 | Labour | James Callaghan |
| James Prior | 5 May 1979 | 14 September 1981 | Conservative | Margaret Thatcher |
| Norman Tebbit | 14 September 1981 | 16 October 1983 | Conservative | Margaret Thatcher |
| Tom King | 16 October 1983 | 2 September 1985 | Conservative | Margaret Thatcher |
| The Lord Young of Graffham | 2 September 1985 | 13 June 1987 | Conservative | Margaret Thatcher |
| Norman Fowler | 13 June 1987 | 3 January 1990 | Conservative | Margaret Thatcher |
| Michael Howard | 3 January 1990 | 11 April 1992 | Conservative | Margaret Thatcher |
| Michael Howard | 3 January 1990 | 11 April 1992 | Conservative | John Major |
| Gillian Shephard | 11 April 1992 | 27 May 1993 | Conservative | John Major |
| David Hunt | 27 May 1993 | 20 July 1994 | Conservative | John Major |
| Michael Portillo | 20 July 1994 | 5 July 1995 | Conservative | John Major |

## Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1995–2001)

| Name | Name | Term of office | Term of office | Political Party | Prime Minister | Prime Minister |
| | Gillian Shephard | 5 July 1995 | 2 May 1997 | Conservative | | John Major |
| | David Blunkett | 2 May 1997 | 8 June 2001 | Labour | | Tony Blair |
The office was merged with the Department of Social Security to form the Department for Work and Pensions in 2001.