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Background

On the basis of discussions with business, Success at Work identified seven initial areas for review:  dispute resolution, an employment standard, maternity leave and pay, employment particulars, statutory redundancy, time off for public duties, and employment law guidance.  The PriceWaterhouse Coopers / Better Regulation Executive Administrative Burdens Measurement Exercise, which sought to measure the administrative costs of all government legislation, has given further input into this review: it has provided an indication of the perceived costs of employment law information obligations, suggesting where we might most usefully focus our simplification efforts.  We are also very grateful for the simplification proposals put forward from business and other groups, and will continue to engage with interested parties in developing our work.

Drawing on all this work, the DTI December 2006 simplification plan contained an update of our current and proposed work on employment law simplification.  In the plan we have set ourselves deliberately stretching targets (approximately £430m out of a total £1.9bn) for the administrative cost savings that we aim to deliver for business and unions through these measures, based on the Administrative Burdens Measurement Exercise.  The measures include some proposals for changes to the regulations themselves (e.g. dispute resolution, information obligations for employment agencies where the duration of assignments is short, requirements relating to payment of the national minimum wage, and balloting methods for unions); and some to aid understanding and compliance with them, reflecting the clear message we have heard from businesses that such help is needed. A couple of the changes (revamping advice on maternity leave and pay, and abolishing the Older Workers Development Rate for the National Minimum Wage) have already been implemented, but most is work in progress.