Unfair dismissal - sacked??

According to today's Daily Telegraph, a report commissioned by David Cameron has recommended the abolition of Unfair Dismissal!

According to the report its author Adrian Beecroft complains of "the terrible impact of the current Unfair Dismissal rules on the efficiency and hence competitiveness of our businesses and on the effectiveness and cost of public services."

The Telegraph report goes on to say that the Chancellor George Osborne has a similar view in relation to the dismissal laws. It also states that the report has the support of both the Chancellor and the Prime Minister.

This report follows hot on the heels of the conference announcement by Mr Osborne of the proposed introduction of a fee of £250 for bringing a claim before an Employment Tribunal with an additional fee of 1000 payable in the case proceeds to a hearing. He also announced the intention to extend the qualifying period of employment to 2 years before a sacked worker can take his case to the tribunal.

There is an agenda here which must clearly be of major concern to anybody with an interesting justice in England and Wales. There was a time in the distant past, when workers could be disposed of without any accountability. There was always an imbalance of power between employers and employees which has been addressed the last few decades. We are now in modern democracy where somebody can go to work and know that they will not be arbitrarily sacked at the whim of an employer who no longer sees them as a useful asset.

This is another proposed attack access to justice the weakest and most vulnerable members of our society. It is to be hoped that this goes no further than being the report.

Presumably Mr Cameron's coalition partners would never support such a move which could never be described as either liberal or democrat.

By Steve Cornforth