The DTI is set to announce new regulations on Tupe and parental leave over the next few weeks, and will also issue guidance on frivolous tribunal claims.
Ministers are in the final stages of approving the proposals and regulations, although the department has not set a date for publication.
A DTI spokesman said the Government would announce changes to the tribunal system to deal with vexatious claims “over the next two weeks”, and the parental leave regulations would be announced “before Christmas”. Employers have raised concerns over the number of frivolous tribunal claims made by disgruntled employees which they see as time-wasting.
John Renz, HR director at CMS Cameron McKenna, said changes to the tribunal system were long overdue. “The system is creaking and in need of reform because of the huge increase in tribunal cases. The Government should have improved the system before it implanted the legislation.”
The CBI has been lobbying the Government since the beginning of the year to make changes to ensure only genuine claims go to tribunal.
Dr John McMullen, national head of employment law at Pinsent Curtis, said the new draft Tupe regulations would revise how the law covered outsourcing, pension transfers and fast-track tribunal schemes.
“When the regulations do come out, we should expect at least three months of consultation period,” he said.
“These are very complex issues and one can understand why the DTI is taking its time because there are very difficult legal questions to be answered.”
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By Richard Staines
