Calls for Evidence
How effective are the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE)? The Government has announced a ‘call for evidence’ to put forward the case for change.
Ed Davey, the BIS Minister for Employment relations has advised the House of Commons that the Red Tape Challenge, the Government’s dialogue with business, has raised concerns that the regulations in their current form have ‘gold-plated’ the original EU Acquired Rights Directive and are over-bureaucratic. His acknowledgement followed the submissions of various businesses’ to the Government, which drew attention to the discrepancies between the UK law and the manner in which other EU member states have implemented the Directive.
The legislation has covered ‘service provision changes’ since 2006, although this is not a requisite of the EU Directive. This has meant that more recruiters have been affected and many will welcome the Government’s objective to improve the implementation of the Directive.
The intention is to reduce the burden on businesses, while also continuing to provide appropriate levels of protection for employees.
The Department for BIS has also announced a look into the rules covering collective redundancy, and whether or not a statutory definition of ‘establishment’ would be helpful. Where 100 ormore dismissals are planned, the minimum period for consultation may be reduced from 90 days to 60, 45 or 30.
A further ‘call for evidence’ will be made in the New Year seeking views on an introduction of ‘compensated no-fault dismissals’ for employers with 10 or fewer employees, in order to make dismissals easier where there has been an unsatisfactory level of performance. The Department will also be collecting opinions on reducing the dismissal process, which may include amendments to the ACAS code of practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures.
Adrian, a highly experienced lawyer, founded Lawspeed in 1997. He is responsible for developing our extensive portfolio of products and services, including the widely used Lawspeed contract templates. Adrian is an expert on “recruitment law” and specialises in contracts, regulatory compliance, employment status and dispute handling. He is chair of the trade body the Association of Recruitment Consultancies, the only lawyer lead recruitment trade body in the UK. Adrian and his co-director Ravi devised Standards in Recruitment as a vehicle for helping drive up standards and compliance in the industry.
Adrian is our lead in discussions with the government over regulatory evolution. Apart from assisting with client support, Adrian’s primary role is research and development into methods of business delivery, our latest service Proterms being his most recent project. Adrian heads our IR35 lawyers team.