George Osborne: We will deliver a better alternative to employment tribunals

The government pledged to provide a quicker and cheaper alternative to employment tribunal hearings in simple cases during today's (November 29th) autumn statement.

Chancellor George Osborne announced the creation of a Rapid Resolution scheme in his assessment of the UK's economic position, in addition to a call for evidence on the impact of reducing collective redundancy processes for 100 or more staff from the current 90 days to 60, 45 or 30 days.

A review into radical reform of UK employment law has also been called for, which will seek views on the introduction of compensated no-fault dismissal for micro-businesses with fewer than 10 employees, and simpler, quicker and clearer dismissal processes.

The government continues to maintain that the changes to employment law are designed to support business growth. However, there is growing concern that the changes will infringe on worker's rights in the UK by giving employers the ability to retrench staff without opposition.

Despite criticisms, the government asserts that changes to employment law will protect employee rights and ensure that genuine cases benefit from quick and effective justice.

Published by Phil Hammond