The government’s decision to increase the period which employees have to serve
before they can bring a case of unfair dismissal from one to two years is welcome. But if it wants to encourage small and medium sized enterprises, the engine of the economy, to hire more people
then they need to take the shears — not nail scissors — to regulation and employee protection laws.
Camilla Cavendish has a cracking example of the absurdity of the current system in her column (£) today:
‘A London neighbour of mine, Mr B, runs a small business that is doing well. Last year he took over an insolvent company where the staff were about to lose their jobs. He was amazed to discover that under the 2006 TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings, Protection of Employment) regulations, he could not change the contracts of any of the staff if he took them on, although they were paid more, had longer holidays and different hours from the people who were already working for him.
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