The Conservative Party's celebrated plan to slash £14bn per year of legislative costs from business misjudges the mood of employers, a leading figure has warned.
Tory attempts to win back voters from Labour will be kick-started on Friday (17 August) when shadow chancellor George Osborne backs the ambitious Redwood Report.
Proposals in the report, compiled by former Tory cabinet minister John Redwood, are said to include repealing Working Time Regulations and making it easier for firms to make employees redundant.
But David Yeandle, deputy director of employment policy at manufacturers' body and powerful lobbyist the EEF, revealed that no-one had asked businesses' opinions.
"I would have hoped that they would have consulted with us on this," he told Personnel Today. "I am sceptical on whether it will work - and I have not heard many people saying they want these laws scrapped."
Yeandle warned that getting out of European legislation such as the Working Time Directive would be extremely difficult.
"Politicians are always very good at saying they will cut red tape but the reality is often different," he added.
"The most important thing is that we do not have any more legislation. There is no great demand to get rid of existing employment legislation."
He added that it was "slightly odd" that the Conservative party was promoting the reduction of employment legislation at the same time as talking about extending the right to request flexible working.
It is unfortunate that the remainder of the Old Guard from the Thatcher Government have somehow got to make some form of impact, whatever that may consist of in order to somehow regain power.
Because it is the Old Guard and because it is so obvious that their suggestions today are so different to what they believed in during the Thatcher Reign that no credence is given to their words. We only have to glance back to remember the Strife and Strikes and damage to work place relations and the totality of non care about Working People plus the cutting of benefit and the dismal state of the NHS at that period and the employees and here we have the same morbid people planting fresh flowers ?
I do believe that if a completely new generation were in place within the Tory Party and were seen not to be contaminated by the old Grandees in the Wings that any suggestions may be viable.
Too much has gone under the Bridge and credibility has been lost, even potentially good ideas are now viewed with great suspicion.
As a Senior HR Manager/Adviser myself I can see that there is a great deal of Employment Law that for the layman looks a little mind blowing but if HR really monitor things properly and then talk things through correctly and are seen to be Reliable and Helpful in the Work Place I do believe that all the existing Legalities can be seen as fair and proper and Employees and Management can work in harmony.
If however the odd maverick hell bent on trouble making or the Management who do not care create trauma, they only have themselves to blame, not the Laws or the Policies.
I do believe that Government should where possible stay out of Employment Legislation unless some very potent reason exists and even moreso for a Shadow Government as all that they can do is create chaos for us all.
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