BCC launches report on Employment Law

On Tuesday, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) released ‘Employment regulation: up to the job?’ - a report highlighting the issues with employment law and a dysfunctional tribunal system. Importantly it also sets out a package of reforms. BCC will be working with the next government to make sure these ideas are included in the planned reviews of employment legislation.

The national Chamber network is still predicting unemployment to peak at 2.65m later this year and will be using this report to remind policymakers of the direct negative impact burdensome employment law has on job creation in the private sector.

April 6th is the first common commencement date of the year and there are two important changes that will affect employers. Firstly, large businesses (those with more than 250 staff) will have to give employees the right to request time off to train. Advice is available here and although businesses are able to turn down requests, it is crucial that they use a justification available to them by law. Another change is the ‘fit note’ system - advice and guidance on this can be accessed at www.health4work.nhs.uk and at Business Link.

Posted 19th Mar 2010  by member Cornwall Chamber of Commerce & Industry