EEF response to consultation on simplification
EEF's response to the Government's consultation on simplification is available here.
Some of the key problems our members face include:
- the amount, character and relentless pace of legislation introduced over recent years;
- understanding how different pieces of legislation interact;
- keeping up to date with important case law; and
- ‘over-compliance’ with the law in order to limit the risk of litigation.
In our consultation response, we the solutions we propose are:
- a significant reduction in the amount of legislation introduced annually, to ensure the focus is on better regulation;
- regulatory impact assessments that recognise the importance of the cumulative burden of related legislation;
- that the DTI ensure the availability of reliable and up-to-date ‘official’ guidance focussed on identified employment events, such as reorganisation, planning maternity leave or managing sickness absence;
- requiring tribunals to take into account the extent to which the employer has followed that guidance in deciding whether an employer is in breach of a particular obligation; and
- simplification of identified pieces of legislation.
This response was submitted in February 2006.