The Government has announced that collective redundancy consultation periods, the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (“TUPE”) and discrimination compensation awards are to be included in the next part of its review of employment law. The Government will start reviewing these areas this year but says that legislation will not necessarily be the route to implement any change if there is a case for reform.
The Government will examine employers’ complaints about the various areas of employment law under review. In relation to compensation for discrimination, it notes that high awards are seen by some businesses as encouraging weak, speculative or vexatious claims. With regard to collective redundancy, the Government intends to consider employers’ complaint that the current requirement of 90 days’ collective consultation when 100 or more employees face dismissal hinders their ability to restructure. As for TUPE, the Government is taking on board the criticism that the Regulations are overly bureaucratic.
So far in its review of employment law the Government has:
- consulted on reforming the employment tribunal system and increasing the qualifying period to two years for an unfair dismissal claim
- commissioned an independent review into managing sickness absence, and
- launched a review of the compliance and enforcement regimes for employment law.
For a free initial consultation please call 01202 499255 and Kate or Paul will be happy to discuss any questions you may have.
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