Employment Law
Review
The Government today announced the latest
instalment of its Employment Law Review beginning with a two
consultation papers that deal with the thorny issues of collective
bargaining and the notoriously complex TUPE
arrangements.
Also released today was the long awaited
Government response to its major consultation paper
'Resolving Workplace Disputes' dealing with Employment
Tribunal procedures . The next six months will see a number of
related policy initiatives and consultations representing the most
fundamental review of employment law in decades.
Headline developments announced today
include:
- The introduction in April 2012
of an increased qualifying period of 2 years for unfair
dismissal
- Reform of TUPE arrangements
including the end of gold plating and the removal of
professional services from scope
- A reduction in the current
redundancy consultation period from 90 days to possibly 60, 45 or
30 days following consultation
- A fundamental review of
Employment Tribunal Procedure led by Lord Justice Underhill
accompanied by extensive rule changes in relation to costs, witness
statements and the composition of the Tribunal bench.
- Consultation on fees for access
to the Employment Tribunal
- Consultation on the
introduction of a system of 'protected conversations' between
employers and employees to offset constructive dismissal
claims
- Reform of regulation and policy
in relation to sickness absence, the national minimum wage, the
Agency Workers Directive and the operation of the legislation in
respect of whistle blowers
A Law Society spokesperson said:
“These are far reaching and wide ranging proposals that have
the potential to change the employment law landscape significantly.
They all require careful and considered thought and an open channel
between the Government, business and employee representative
groups.
“The Law Society will be looking
particularly closely at the proposed changes to employment
tribunals and what they will mean for access to
justice”.