The Government appears to have drawn back from implementing the Beecroft proposal for “compensated no-fault dismissals”, but there are still substantial changes to employment regulation on the horizon. The Autumn Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)’s Law on Tour, a series of highly informative, practical workshops exploring new and proposed employment law, will explore the impact these changes may have on employers:
- The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill currently on its way through Parliament will allow employers to hold “without prejudice” conversations with employees about their performance.
- The review by Mr Justice Underhill of employment tribunal practice and procedures has recommended changes to help identify and manage weak cases more effectively.
- The Ministry of Justice has confirmed it will introduce fees for users of the Employment Tribunal from the summer of 2013, in a bid to encourage employers and staff to mediate or settle disputes.
Changes are also on the way in other areas, including mandatory early conciliation by Acas before claims are submitted to an employment tribunal, financial penalties on employers who breach an employee’s rights and statutory annual leave.
Opinions are divided on if and how reform can help give businesses more confidence to expand in testing economic times. Whether or not you believe the reforms will have the desired effect, however, it’s imperative that all employers keep up to date and recognise that recruitment and dismissal require a professional and informed approach if employment tribunal claims are to be avoided. With this in mind, the workshops will review legislation, best practice and case law around these complex areas.
Mike Emmott, employee relations adviser at CIPD, said: “There has never been a time when employment law was higher up the political agenda and this is bound to have major repercussions for employers. The Government is clearly determined to stem the flow of employment tribunal claims and this puts the onus on employers to understand what they need to do to comply with the law. HR professionals are increasingly required to protect their organisation from the risk of tribunal claims and the damaging publicity that can result from badly-managed disputes. These workshops offer practitioners the opportunity to keep up with a rapidly changing scene.”
