In May last year, the new coalition government pledged to get rid of the red tape surrounding employment law to make life easier for employers.

Fast forward one year and are we any closer to a streamlined employment law system?

Collective redundancy periods, compensation for discrimination claims and the Transfer Undertakings Protection of Employment Regulations (TUPE) have all been tagged as areas for change including a limit to compensation levels for discrimination claims, a shorter consultation period for collective redundancy situations and a simplification of the TUPE rules.

Other proposals include increasing the qualifying period of unfair dismissal claims from one to two years, sending all employment claims for mediation with ACAS before they can be lodged with the tribunal, increasing the number of cases that can be heard by a single judge and introducing a fee (suggested to be in the region of £500) for submitting a tribunal claim.

Increasing the qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims would clearly be advantageous for employers. This is likely to lessen the number of claims but there is a danger that it might cause more claims for whistleblowing or discrimination.

Time and costs will be saved by allowing more cases to be heard by a single employment judge. Similarly, lodging all claims for mediation with ACAS first should be welcomed as an improvement on the current system. However there is a risk this will increase the workload on an already over-stretched ACAS service, potentially prolonging the litigation process as a side-effect.

Introducing a fee for claimants to lodge claims with the tribunal will be a positive step towards preventing weak and unmeritorious claims. Further, limiting compensation for discrimination claims may result in a reduction in the number of vexatious claims brought by employees with unrealistic expectations of a high pay-out.

Reducing the collective redundancy consultation period would allow employers to restructure their businesses more efficiently and reduce the cost of undertaking such an exercise and the proposed changes to TUPE regulations may lessen the burden of regulatory compliance upon employers in this complicated area of law.

So when will these changes be introduced? At the moment the government's review is just that - a review. The above proposals are not definite and consultation remains open in relation to many of the above ideas.

One thing is certain, there is change ahead.

n If you have any questions or would like to discuss any of these proposals and the impact they might have on you contact Richard Thompson on 01622 690691.