Government considers scrapping unfair dismissal rules

The coalition government is seemingly involved in an internal row over a leaked proposal to do away with unfair dismissal rules.  An unpublished document commissioned by Steve Hilton, the director of strategy for David Cameron, and written by venture capitalist Adrian Beecroft, proposes scrapping unfair dismissal laws in favour of a compensation based system which would give employers the right to sack employees for any reason.

The new system would not apply prohibit the right of employees to sue for unfair dismissal on the basis of sex, age or disability. The 'compensated no fault dismissal' system already exists in some parts of Europe, and Adrian Beecroft believes adopting the approach in the UK would greatly improve British enterprise. He believes employers are disadvantaged by the 'terrible impact of the current unfair dismissal rules' and that a change would allow employers to more freely employ to replace unproductive staff.

The Liberal Democrats are said to be opposed to the proposal because of its impact on workers’ rights, and also suggest that it would have a direct impact on public spending if employees were made to feel even more uncertain about their job security.

It is uncertain how much support the proposal has within the government, but that the proposal has been made has already generated significant concern, with the proposal being called a 'blueprint for bias'.

In the meantime, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has confirmed plans to increase the qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims from one to two years of employment, with the change to take effect from April 2012.

If you live in Northern Ireland and require legal advice in respect of an unfair dismissal claim, redundancy process, offer of voluntary redundancy, or any other employment law matter, contact Wilson Nesbitt solicitors in Belfast or Bangor by email at employment@wilson-nesbitt.com .

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