Law Society of Scotland
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Employment Law

The UK Government's Red Tape Challenge

In April, the UK Government began a new initiative through The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) to review a significant amount of secondary legislation, the majority being statutory instruments, which it considers create unnecessary red tape to business. 

The Employment Law Subcommittee are currently considering the employment legislation covered in the review.

Visit the red tape challenge website to view the consultation

BIS Consultation Modern Workplaces: Flexible Parental Leave

This consultation, published by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS), sought views on an entirely new system of parental leave and pay, available to mothers and fathers on an equal basis, to replace maternity leave and pay beyond the first 18 weeks of a child's life.

BIS Consultation Modern Workplace: Equal Pay

This consultation contains proposals for further action to tackle the gender pay gap.

Modern Workplaces - Working time regulations

This consultation details proposals on changes to the UK's Working Time Regulations. These concern the interaction of annual leave with sick, maternity, adoption, parental, and paternity leave. Changes are necessary to ensure that UK legislation is consistent with the Working Time Directive, as interpreted in a number of judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).

Consultation on Modern Workplaces - Flexible working

This consultation sets out proposals to implement the Coalition Agreement commitment to extend the right to request flexible working to all employees, enabling them to achieve a better work-life balance.

Resolving Workplace Disputes

This consultation was conducted by the Department for Business, Skills & Innovation (BIS) and the Ministry of Justice's Tribunals Service. It is the first step in taking forward the Government's review of employment law.

The Government is seeking views on measures to:

• achieve more early resolution of workplace disputes so that parties can resolve their own problems, in a way that is fair and equitable for both sides, without having to go to an employment tribunal
• ensure that, where parties do need to come to an employment tribunal, the process is as swift, user-friendly and effective as possible; and
• help businesses and social enterprises feel more confident about hiring people