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Overview

The government's approach to employment law combines social justice with economic prosperity.  Building on the foundation of economic stability, effective and focused regulation can play a vital role in correcting market failures, promoting fairness and increasing competition.   We have therefore introduced a range of important new rights for employees and unions - e.g. a decent minimum wage, prohibition of a variety of unjust discriminatory practices, and new rights in support of family life.  These have been widely welcomed, and we will not dilute them.

However we recognise that many businesses say they do not understand what is required of them, and that the administrative burdens of complying with employment law can seem high.  This in turn can discourage employers from employing people, and lead to employees missing out on their rights.  We therefore want to reduce the costs to business of applying these regulations, increase their confidence in doing so, and raise the level of compliance. 

To this end Success at Work - a March 2006 document setting out the government's approach to employment law for the remainder of this Parliament - announced the Employment Law Simplification Review.  This seeks to reduce the compliance costs and complexity of employment law without diluting employee or union rights.

We will also continue to ensure we follow better regulation principles in any new areas of employment policy, both in response to our own national policy aims and in our work at EU level.