Employment Bill receives warm reception

Government plans to increase protection for agency workers and simplify the disciplinary and grievance procedure, have been welcomed by employment groups.

The Employment Bill, published last week, aims to improve employment law in order to benefit employers and employees, as well as trade unions and the public sector.

Planned changes to the way in which workplace disputes are managed would attempt to make it easier for employers to resolve grievances quickly and informally, while a proposed increase in powers for employment agency inspectors would aim to eradicate the exploitation of agency staff.

New measures also outlined in the Bill include increasing the penalty for underpayment of the National Minimum Wage from £5,000 to an uncapped fine, of which the most serious will be referred to the Crown Court.

Tom Hadley, director of external relations for the Recruitment Employment Confederation (REC) said: ‘We welcome this Bill as it aims to crack down on those employers and agencies that are breaking the rules.

‘REC members abide by our Code of Professional Practice as well as the law. It is not right for them to be undercut by agencies that are cutting corners and mistreating workers.’

Meanwhile, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has also welcomed the publication of the Bill, declaring that the proposed changes to the disciplinary and grievance procedure would remove ‘much of the unnecessary red tape’ for businesses dealing with workplace disputes.