Not in our view. While Vince Cable’s announcement last week on employment law reforms received a lot of hype the reality, with one or two exceptions, is a set of limited ideas being put out for consultation, calls for evidence or review. According to the announcement on the BIS website:

The following will be implemented:

• Closing a whistleblowing case law loophole which allows employees to blow the whistle about their own personal work contract.
• Merging 17 National Minimum Wage regulations into one set.
• Creating a universally portable CRB check that can be viewed by employers instantly online. (At last! Hooray).
• Requiring all employment disputes to go to the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) to be offered pre-claim conciliation before going to a tribunal.
• From April 2012, increasing the qualification period for unfair dismissal from one to two years.
• From April 2012, witness statements in Tribunals to be taken as read, expenses withdrawn from witnesses, judges to sit alone for unfair dismissal claims, maximum cost awards for vexatious claims to rise from £10,000 to £20,000 and deposit orders (where a judge determines part of claim is unmerited) to rise from £500 to £1,000.
• ‘Modifying the formulae for up-rating employment tribunal awards and statutory redundancy payments to round to the nearest pound.’

The following will be consulted about in 2012:

1. ‘In the spring’ – proposals to streamline the current regulatory regime for the recruitment sector.
2. ‘In the New Year’ – proposals to introduce ‘protected conversations’ which will allow employers to discuss issues like retirement or poor performance in an open manner with staff - without this being used in any subsequent tribunal claims.
3. ‘Shortly’ – proposals to introduce fees for anyone wishing to take a claim to an employment tribunal so the cost burden is transferred from taxpayers to users of the system and to encourage claimants to consider seriously the validity of their claim. Views will be sought on two options. The first proposes a system that involves payment of an initial fee to lodge a claim, and a second fee to take that claim to hearing. The second proposes introducing a £30,000 threshold, so those seeking an award above this level will pay more to bring a claim.
4. No date given - measures to simplify compromise agreements, which will be renamed ‘settlement agreements’.

The following are subject to a ‘call for evidence’:

1. Views will be sought on a proposal to introduce compensated no fault dismissal for micro firms, with fewer than 10 employees.
2. Proposals to simplify the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) - TUPE – rules.
3. Whether the 90 day minimum consultation period for collective redundancies (when over 100 redundancies are proposed) is restricting businesses and should be reduced.

The following will be reviewed:

1. Mr Justice Underhill will lead an independent review of the existing rules of procedure governing employment tribunals. This review will look to address concerns that they have become increasingly complex and inefficient over time and are no longer fit for purpose.

The following will be ‘looked at’:

1. Ways to slim down existing dismissal processes, how they might be simplified, including potentially working with the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) to make changes to their Code, or supplementary guidance for small businesses.
2. Plans to consider how and whether to develop a ‘rapid resolution’ scheme which will offer a quicker and cheaper alternative to determination at an employment tribunal. Any proposals will be the subject of a consultation.

And that’s it. Not very radical and not, for the most part, of much immediate relevance. But at least two of the ideas HR Advantage submitted are being looked at some more: simplified tribunal processes and measures to simplify compromise agreements. Unfortunately, though, not quickly enough. But as for ‘modifying the formulae for uprating tribunal awards and statutory redundancy payments to round to the nearest pound’….. Please somebody tell us that a civil servant won a bet on getting this into the final list, because if this is one of the top twenty measures the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills can come up with that “will retain key protections for employees, but also fundamentally improve the way employers take people on, manage disputes and let people go.” - the same Department that gave us the already forgotten ‘Employer’s Charter’ - it is time to start consulting about how we put it out of it’s misery.

For more information and advice about these ‘radical reforms’ and how they may impact your organisation please call Campbell Ritchie on 01494 478806 or e-mail campbell@hradvantage.co.uk