Can this slimline Queen’s speech boost job creation?

In a speech notable for its brevity, the government set out a series of measures it says are designed to slash “unnecessary” red tape and remove barriers to job creation. Although they have received broad approval, some employers said they were just “tinkering around the edges”.

In a statement on the legislative plans for the new parliament, Prime Minister David Cameron and his deputy Nick Clegg said the government is “rebalancing our economy to make it less reliant on financial services” and is also seeking to “boost manufacturing”.

An Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill will be introduced, overhauling employment tribunals and cutting inspections on businesses.

Measures will be proposed to make parental leave more flexible, so both parents can share parenting responsibilities and balance work and family commitments.

What was missing from the Queen's speech and why: read the FactCheck blog

The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill “will make Britain one of the most business-friendly countries in the world”, they said.

Early conciliation

It will encourage the earlier resolution of disputes and a more streamlined employment tribunal system for all users. The government hopes that these changes will give employers more confidence to hire new staff, supporting growth.

Under the proposals, opportunities for dispute resolution outside the employment tribunal process would be provided through encouraging ‘early conciliation’.

All claimants would lodge details of their claim with Acas giving parties the opportunity for conciliation, and compromise agreements will be renamed “settlement” agreements to help encourage greater use.

The bill, which applies throughout the UK, would also introduce regulatory reform to reduce inspection burdens on business.

The government said that one of the benefits of simplifying the regulatory system is that it would give confidence to business that they will not be held back by “outdated and unnecessary legislation”.

Careworn evangelists prepare to trade: read Gary Gibbon on the Queen's speech

In the Children and Families Bill, parents would be given access to flexible parental leave so that – where they want to – mothers and fathers can share caring responsibilities.

‘One-way system’

So what do employers make of the government’s plans?

Chris Dawson, the founder of home, leisure and garden retailer The Range and one of Channel 4 News’ jobs ambassadors welcomed the proposals to shake-up the tribunal system which he said is “a one-way system that is not to employers’ advantage”.

He said that currently, the workplace dispute resolution arrangements deterred growing companies from hiring, particularly small ones, who he added are vital to economic growth.

“I know companies with five, ten, 20 people working for them and they have had as much as one third of the workforce in a tribunal. These changes would help to encourage growth.”

Mr Dawson said that proper notice for employers must be built in the proposals to change parental leave. He added that if proposals to cut red tape were carried out, the proposals as a whole could reduce the unemployment rate by around 5 to 7 per cent.

Another jobs ambassador Dan Crow, chief technology officer at SongKick, said the list of legislation contained within the Queen’s speech was “surprisingly slim” and was unlikely to make a significant contribution to creating 2.5m more jobs.

‘Tinkering’

“It really feels like the government is tinkering around the edges,” he said. “Any impact that this will have will be swept away by macroeconomic issues.”

But he welcomed plans for more flexible parental leave and for a streamlined employment tribunal system.

“It’s not clear what that will be, but a better, fairer and faster system is in everyone’s interest,” he said.

John Longworth, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), welcomed the changes to employment tribunals.

“One in five companies has been threatened with a Tribunal in the last three years, according to BCC’s own member research, and this puts companies off hiring. So we will be watching closely to ensure that this number diminishes, and fast.”

Mr Langworth was less positive about the parental leave proposals. “Ministers have chosen to ignore the fact that a complex new system of shared parental leave brings fiendish complexity and huge uncertainty for employers across Britain.

“These proposals will hit business at precisely the time ministers are asking companies to create jobs and spur growth.”

“While most business people identify with the idea of gender-neutral parental leave, they’ve warned time and again that the government’s proposals are unwieldy, difficult to understand, and fraught with potential complications.”

“Businesses may now be exposed to endless appeals, legal challenges and grievances. If shared parental leave is introduced the government must ensure that the possible patterns that can be requested are limited to reduce complexity, by limiting requests to chunks of one month or more.”