| By :
Alison Withers
Copyright (c) 2011 Alison Withers The UK Government has pinned its strategy for economic recovery following the 2008 recession on the private sector being able to generate more job opportunities. to compensate for the jobs being cut in the public sector as part of its austerity measures to reduce national debt. It has recently announced plans to review employment law, in particular issues of collective redundancy consultation periods, TUPE regulations and compensation awards by Employment Tribunals. It has also suggested that some new measures may have to be introduced including overhauling the parental leave system, new flexible working rights, measures to promote equal pay and changes to sick pay and holiday pay as a result of changes in EU rules. Employers have consistently argued that one of the main inhibitors to creating new job opportunities is the amount of "red tape" they have to comply with. While they welcomed the announcement of the review, they were not so happy with the second announcement of possible new measures announced a week later. The Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, David Frost, summed up their feelings, saying that last week, the Government won praise from business when it said it would simplify and streamline some costly employment laws. This week they will create new regulatory burdens. He argued that this kind of approach was not one that gave companies confidence in Government, or the confidence to employ more people and grow their businesses. A spokeswoman for the REC (Recruitment and Employment Confederation) has also welcomed the announcement of the review. She stressed that one key to boosting jobs was to ensure the existence of a flexible labour market with proper enforcement of regulations so that employers who complied with them did not end up being undercut. Recruitment agencies in the UK are in the best position to respond to business needs for flexible workers because they specialise in sourcing potential employees for their business clients on a temporary, contract or permanent basis. The simplifications and consultations the government has announced are therefore likely to be of considerable importance to agencies, to their applicants and to employers that use their services. Whether the employer wants an executive PA for maternity cover, temporary administrative support to deal with a particularly busy period or seasonal workers a good recruitment agency will need to be up to speed with the regulations and legislation in order to be able to supply the right person for the vacancy. Any changes that the government makes to employment law will need to be well thought out and carefully drafted if they are to achieve the aim of reducing rather than adding to red tape.
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