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Employment reform must work for business

The Government’s plans to overhaul employment law could, potentially, get more people back into work, however, they could also burden businesses with unworkable policies and red tape, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has warned.

Jane Gratton, Deputy Director of Public Policy at the BCC, said: “This is the biggest shake up of employment law in decades. These are huge changes and businesses must be engaged and supported on them every step of the way.

“If the right balance is struck then we have the potential to get more people into work and boost economic growth.  But if the process is mishandled there is a danger these changes could have the opposite effect.”

The Government announced a raft of proposals as part of its Employment Rights Bill – but said changes would not take effect for two years, following consultation.

The proposals include:

  • Statutory sick pay (SSP): workers will be entitled to SSP, external from the first day they are ill, rather than the fourth day
  • Lower earnings limit for SSP: currently, workers earning less than £123 per week cannot claim SSP. This limit will be removed but the bill will set out a lesser level of sick pay for lower earners
  • Paternity leave: fathers or partners to be eligible from day one of employment, instead of 26 weeks
  • Unpaid parental leave: parents to be eligible from day one of employment, instead of one year
  • Unpaid bereavement leave: to become a “day one” right for workers
  • Flexible working: bosses will be expected to consider any flexible working requests made from day one, and say yes unless they can prove it is unreasonable

Ms Gratton added: “It is important to stress that the legislation we are seeing today is a starting point. It is setting out a framework, and the detail and the mechanics of how this will operate will still need much further consultation.

“Many of these changes are going to need secondary legislation and it’s unlikely we’ll see major changes to business practices until 2026.

“But firms will want to see more detail on the timeline for these reforms and guarantees that there will be no surprises.

“We all recognise that a thriving workforce is more productive and that drives growth. We will continue to work with Government and the unions to ensure that a balance is reached. One that encourages businesses to recruit and has the right support for employees.”

More details on the changes can be found here.

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