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Small firms to be given ‘three-year exemption from new laws’
Small firms with fewer than 10 staff will be given a three-year moratorium on new employment regulations under plans unveiled by the Government.
At a speech to the Federation of Small Businesses annual conference in Liverpool, the Business Minister Mark Prisk announced a raft of changes aimed at cutting red tape and boosting the economy.
These include plans to revoke regulations that would give parents of children up to the age 17 the right to flexible working hours from April. The Government is also expected to abolish plans to extend the ‘time to train’ regulations to companies with less than 250 members of staff.
‘We are giving those affected an opportunity to tell us which rules are badly designed, or straightforwardly a bad idea,’ Mr Prisk told the conference.
Meanwhile, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said it wants the Coalition to go even further and give small firms the right to an annual review of flexible working conditions.
It has also called for employers to have the right to agree return dates for staff on maternity leave.
The call comes ahead of the Chancellor’s Budget, which is expected to include measures to support businesses and encourage economic growth.
George Osborne will present the 2011 Budget on 23 March.