As an employee, how will I be affected by the Government’s proposed reforms to employment law

In the autumn of 2011, the government announced the first results of its consultations on removing unnecessary bureaucracy and a tightening-up of regulations concerning workplace disputes. The government wants to create an environment in which businesses can expand, without creating job insecurity for employees. However, employees may worry that any weakening of their legal protection, especially in an economic downturn, will mean that employers can ‘fire and hire’ more freely.

Employment law reforms on the way include:

• From 2012 an employee must have given two years’ continuous service, rather than the previous one year, before they can take their employer before an Employment Tribunal. However, there is no change to the rule that employees bringing discrimination claims are able to do so from the first day of employment. The government is also proposing that all workplace disputes between an employee and their employer must be referred to ACAS for mediation, before taking a claim to the Tribunal. This may be advantageous to some employees, as the matter may be settled before court proceedings. Conversely, in serious cases of unfair dismissal, the employee may still have to go to court to obtain appropriate compensation

• After 2013, employees who bring a Tribunal claim against their employer will be required to pay a fee, which will only be repaid if the employee’s claim is successful. Additionally, an Employment Tribunal will be able to order a claimant to pay a deposit of up to £1,000, to ensure that they wish to continue with a claim that is considered ‘weak’ by the court. Parties to the dispute will also have to pay witnesses’ expenses up-front; and the losing side will reimburse the successful party through costs. These financial risks mean employees will have to be certain of the strength of their claim

• In the near future, small companies with fewer than 10 employees could be exempt from most employment regulations. Although the employees of these ‘micro’ firms will be happy if their company is flourishing, the removal of any employment rights may cause a power imbalance. For example, a manager could say that an employee is underperforming and dismiss them without further explanation. However, if that employee had not been sufficiently trained or if the manager was a bully they may have not legal recourse regarding unfair dismissal