URTU opposes cut in workers’ rights
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TRANSPORT UNIONS HAVE accused the government of weakening employee rights over a proposal to double the qualification period before an employee can claim unfair dismissal.
The proposal is included in ‘Resolving Workplace Disputes’, a Department of Business, Industry and Skills consultation, with a response expected this autumn. The document aims to encourage settling disputes in the workplace. The E N government says that doubling
from one year to two the period before an employee can claim unfair dismissal would cut the number of employment tribunal claims by up to 4,700 a year.
“Forcing an employee to wait two years before they are protected against unfair dismissal will encourage bad employment practices,” says Bob Monk, general secretary of URTU (United Road Transport Union). “If a dismissal is unfair, it is 5 x 5 0 p d f S e no less likely to be unfair on day one e 3 than it is one or two years later.” The Road Haulage Association (RHA) sees little advantage. “A reduction of up to 4,700 claims against nearly 400,000 received in the last year is only around 1% of claims, so the benefit is negligible,” says Ruth Pott, RHA director of employment affairs.
Other proposals include greater penalties for employers that breach workers’ rights, sending claims to ACAS first for conciliation, and in creasing the deposit for vexatious
2 0 8 1 1 1 1 5 3
claims from £500 to £1,000.