Written by Sara Ellison | Employment Lawyer
Unfair Dismissal to be Abolished?
Unfair dismissal came under attack on 12th October 2011, when the final draft of the Beecroft Report was published. The Report criticised existing current employment law, and in particular the need for employers to follow a fair and reasonable procedure when dismi
ssing employees. The report suggests that it is currently too easy for employees to claim unfair dismissal and seek large awards of compensation, and that as a result employers are prevented from dismissing employees who are underperforming and replacing them with more competent and willing employees.
The Beecroft Report also recommends introducing a new system of “Compensated No Fault Dismissal”. Under this system dismissals would not be deemed to be unfair if no reason was specified for the dismissal. However, an employee who was dismissed under this regime would receive a payment for their notice period and a termination payment reflective of those for redundancy dismissals. Unsurprisingly these proposals have come under attack from various bodies as an attempt to dilute the rights of employees. These proposals are in addition to the increase in the qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims which will rise to 2 years in April 2012. Further details about the proposals in the Report can be found here>>
For advice about any of the issues discussed here or any employment or HR related matter contact the Team on 0114 272 1884 or hello@bhayanibracewell.co.uk.
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