Employment law reform

After much speculation, the Business Secretary, Vince Cable, has today set out the Government's plans for a radical shake up of employment law. Mr Cable presented a mix of proposals, pledges and requests for views. Further plans for change are contained in the government's response to the "Resolving Workplace Disputes" consultation, the publication of which coincided with Mr Cable's speech.

So what is new? In this alert, we set out some of the main areas put forward for reform.

Unfair dismissal

The Government has confirmed that it is seeking views on:

• a compensated no-fault dismissal regime for micro firms (10 or fewer employees)
• radically slimming down existing dismissal processes, including looking at "potentially" changing the Acas Code.

The Government also confirmed the increase in the qualifying period for unfair dismissal to two years from April 2012. 

Tribunals

Proposals include:

• a requirement for all claims to be lodged with Acas for conciliation before they can proceed to tribunal  
• the potential introduction of fees for bringing employment tribunal claims  
• a penalty (at the judge's discretion) for employers who are found to have breached employment rights 
• consideration of quicker and cheaper alternative to a tribunal hearing (a "rapid resolution" system)
• a "Fundamental Review" of the whole tribunal system
• increasing the use of mediation in the workplace.

Protected conversations and Compromise agreements

A new concept of "protected conversations" (conversations that cannot be used as evidence in a tribunal) will be introduced to "allow employers to raise issues such as poor performance or retirement plans in an open way". There will be consultation on the detail in the New Year. 

The Government will look at ways of simplifying compromise agreements (to be renamed "settlement agreements").

The Government has also:

• pledged to increase the level of deposit orders from £500 to £1,000 and the level of costs that a tribunal can order a party to pay if their case is vexatious or misconceived from £10,000 to £20,000
• pledged to close the "loophole" in the whistleblowing legislation which allows employees to blow the whistle on breaches of their own employment contract
• confirmed its commitment to extend rights to flexible working and introducing a system of shared parental leave
• called for "evidence" in relation to proposals to reduce the 90 day period for collective redundancy consultation and simplifying TUPE.

We intend to respond to the consultations that the Government puts forward. If you wish to contribute comments on any of the issues, or discuss how any of the proposals might affect you or your business please contact Joanna Blackburn.