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Lawyers slam government plans to restrict unfair dismissal claims

I doubt this will come in. More likely it's been leaked so that the proposals which emerge from the current red-tape challenge will seem moderate in comparison. This proposal would make no difference at all to the complex cases referred to by City Gent. It would just serve to make people more insecure, even less likely to spend (therefore counterproductive from the perspective of what prompted the report in the first place), subject to the arbitrary whim of their boss and more likely to claim discrimination (which is largely exempt from interference due to EU law). Yes, it's a matter of contract but why ignore the human element and the impact on the individual (and any dependents) of losing a job? In any case, as the qualifying service period for unfair dismissal will shortly be increased to two years, I think the balance is about right. It's fairly easy to dismiss for redundancy already if the role is no longer needed. Gross misconduct dismissals are equally easy to carry out with a fair process. Moderate underperformance which isn't quite bad enough to justify the sack is more difficult, but all the more reason to manage employees properly especially during the first 2 years of employment.

27-Oct-2011

10:39 am