George Osborne described his first Budget as ‘the unavoidable Budget’ in which spending cuts outweighed tax increases by a ratio of 77% spending cuts to 23% tax increases. The capital gains tax changes were less harsh than many feared. The new top rate of 28% is much less than the 40% or 50% rates that had been threatened and it was a relief that the annual exemption will stay at £10,100. The increase in the lifetime limit for entrepreneurs’ relief from £2 million to £5 million will be welcomed by business owners.
(more…)

MEP’s agreed this week that over 2150 former construction workers in Spain and 600 ex-employees at the Irish crystal glass company Waterford Crystal and it’s suppliers could get €11 million in aid from the European Globalisation Fund (EGF).

The money will provide for training, self-employment and ‘professional orientation’ under plans approved by the European Parliament’s Budgets Committee. The proposal still needs to be approved by Parliament as a whole and then by the Council of Ministers but no application which has got this far as so far been turned down.

With no indication from the Government that is has considered applying, it remains a mystery as to why the UK is one of the few Member States not to benefit from this Fund.

There have been 55 applications to the EGF since the start of its operations in January 2007, for a total amount of about €272 million, helping more than 52,300 workers. Applications have been made by numerous Member States, including France, Germany and Italy, but not the UK.

The Fund exists to support workers who lose their jobs as a result of changing global trade patterns so that they can find another job as quickly as possible.

When a large company shuts down or a factory is relocated to a country outside the EU, or a whole sector loses many jobs in a region, the EGF is intended to help the redundant workers to find new jobs as quickly as possible.

07 June 2010

An RAF officer from Oxford who claimed she was discriminated against when she became pregnant has been awarded more than £16,000 at an Employment Tribunal.

The officer was on a posting in the Falkland Islands when she told superior officers she was 12 weeks pregnant.

The tribunal in Reading heard her request to stay on in her job was denied and she was ordered to return to the UK immediately.

This meant she missed out on a review, delaying her promotion prospects.

The woman involved has not been identified at her own request.

The Equality & Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said the way she had been treated “had the effect of creating an intimidating, degrading, hostile or offensive environment for her”, though this was not intentional on the Air Force’s part, the EHRC said.

The Tribunal also recommended the Ministry of Defence carry out individual risk assessments for each pregnant woman and consider adjusting her role to enable her to remain in her post.

It also suggested the Ministry of Defence establish a monitoring process in respect of any removal of a pregnant woman from her post, and undertake a performance appraisal for each pregnant woman starting maternity leave.

John Wadham, Group Director Legal of the EHRC, said: “The Commission’s research has shown that pregnant women are the most discriminated group of people in the workforce, with 30,000 losing their jobs each year as a result of their pregnancy.

“Larger employers such as the Ministry of Defence should be leading the way in showing other organisations how to treat their pregnant workers.

“This judgment should serve as a reminder of what is expected of employers in these situations.”

An RAF spokesperson said: “The RAF accepts the ruling of the tribunal and will work together with the other services and the Ministry of Defence to consider its recommendations”.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/oxford/10236016.stm

BBC News, Friday, 4 June 2010

Three failed asylum seekers have been caught working illegally at a nail bar in Nottingham by UK border officials.

The UK Border Agency said it visited New York Nails in Upper Parliament Street after a tip-off.

Three Vietnamese nationals were found to be working with no right to employment in the UK.

Two women, aged 22 and 47, and a man aged 21 were released on immigration bail while the agency takes steps to remove them from the country.

The business was issued with an on-the-spot penalty notice for employing illegal workers and may now face a fine of up to £30,000.

The company will have the chance to prove whether it carried out the necessary right-to-work checks.

Companies who fail to carry out the required checks face fines of up to £10,000 per worker.

Phil Dyer, UK Border Agency East Midlands Assistant Director, said: “Those who employ foreign nationals who do not have the right to work in the UK will be visited and have enforcement action taken.

“Anyone in Nottinghamshire who takes on a foreign national without permission to work is breaking the law and undermining law-abiding businesses.

“Rogue employers should be warned that they face heavy fines and could end up in jail.”

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/nottingham/10243276.stm

BBC News, 5 June 2010

Business Secretary Vince Cable today announced an action plan to bring an end to the ‘excessive’ employment regulation that is stifling business growth.

Speaking this morning, Cable unveiled the Government’s drive to reduce regulation, which is stifling growth, especially of small businesses. This Reducing Regulation Committee will be chaired by the business secretary and will enforce a new approach to new laws and regulations, ensuring that their costs are being properly addressed across the entire British economy.

He also announced an immediate review of all regulation in the pipeline for implementation, which has been inherited from the last government. The cost of implementing this amounts to £5 billion annually before April 2011 and £19.1 billion per annum thereafter. This will be the first action for the new Cabinet Committee.

The business secretary also pledged a new approach that will control and reduce the burden of regulation.  A ‘one-in, one-out’ approach, designed to change the culture of government, would make sure that new regulatory burdens on business are only brought in when reductions can be made to existing regulation.

Cable said: “The deluge of new regulations has been choking off enterprise for too long. We must move away from the view that the only way to solve problems is to regulate.

“The Government has wide-ranging social and ecological goals including protecting consumers and protecting the environment. This requires increased social responsibility on the part of businesses and individuals.

“This is a real challenge and it will not be easy. We need to reduce regulation and at the same time meet our social and environmental ambitions. This demands a radical change in culture away from the tick-box approach to regulation only as a last resort. It’s a big task but one worth striving for.”

Commenting, David Frost, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said: “BCC research shows new employment regulations over the next four years will increase business costs by over £11 billion - so the announcement of an immediate review of all red tape in the pipeline is very welcome.

“At a time when we need business to drive recovery and create jobs, the cost of employing people clearly needs to be reduced. Employers consistently tell us that they will get on with creating jobs and wealth, but they need the Government to get off their backs and let them do it.

“While the initial signs from this Government are very positive on reducing the burden of red tape, the coalition should remember that we will be subjecting them to the same level of scrutiny that we have with other initiatives over the years.”

And the Forum of Private Business’ (FPB) Chief Executive, Phil Orford, added: “Our calls for a comprehensive review of red tape finally appear to have been heard. The first job of the new star chamber will be to scrutinise all new regulations that are in the pipeline and that has to be welcomed.

“The Government must ensure that, in administering the work of the Reducing Regulation Committee, it does not create more bureaucracy to deal with red tape.

“If this is achieved, combined with the ‘one-in, one-out’ approach and the work of the challenge group in devising innovative, non-regulatory solutions to social and environmental challenges, we look forward to an enterprise culture that is conducive to small business growth rather than restrictive, as we have at present with the record levels of red tape that exist.”

According to the FPB’s research, at £2.4 billion the amount spent by smaller businesses on employment law is the highest out of all seven different types of legislation categorised in the quarterly survey, called Referendum. It surpasses the £2.1 billion per year spent on health and safety administration and £1.8 billion on tax.

The survey found that smaller business employers spend £259 million on work associated with dismissals and redundancy. They spend a further £391 million on absence control and management, £237 million on maternity, £333 million on disciplinary issues, and £1,175 million on holidays and any other remaining areas of employment legislation. The average time per month spent on all these different areas of employment law was found to be around 10 hours for each small business.

In all, 81% of businesses surveyed said the existing regulatory framework was unrealistic, not robust and unfair.

Particularly time-consuming were the tasks of understanding new regulations (73% thought this was excessive) and the general monitoring and administering of legal responsibilities (74%). Monitoring and administration was deemed to be most costly (45% felt the cost was excessive), closely followed by implementing health and safety legislation (selected by 42% of respondents).

http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/channel/employmentlaw/article/1007697/Vince-Cable-announces-plans-reduce-existing-red-tape-review-employment-law-business-regulation-pipeline/

David Woods, hrmagazine, 3 June 2010

Heather Mills’ ex-nanny has lost her unfair dismissal and sex discrimination case against her former boss.

Sara Trumble, 26, from West Sussex, had told the employment tribunal that Sir Paul McCartney’s ex-wife exploited her.

Ms Mills said they had been “very close” but the relationship soured when she refused to give her £4,000 for breast enlargement surgery.

Tribunal judge Steven Vowles dismissed the claims in his judgement on Friday.

A spokeswoman for Ms Mills said: “Heather is delighted with the decision of the Employment Tribunal that has dismissed all of Sara Trumble’s claims.

“Heather was always a very fair and generous employer to Sara and is very pleased that this has been confirmed by Judge Vowles and the tribunal members unanimously in the judgment.”

Ms Trumble, from Westfield, was paid £260 a week to look after Ms Mills’s daughter Beatrice, now six.

During the four-day tribunal in Ashford, Kent, she had claimed she was relegated to carrying out household chores after she returned from maternity leave.

Ms Trumble also claimed the 42-year-old former model became bad-tempered and rude following her split from Sir Paul McCartney.

But Ms Mills of Robertsbridge, East Sussex, dismissed the allegations, saying she treated her former nanny like her own daughter.

She said she only arranged new childcare for Beatrice after Ms Trumble had handed in her notice.

Ms Mills was supported in her claims by her PA Sonya Webb, who described her boss of 10 years as a “more than fair employer”.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/10238065.stm

BBC News, Friday, 4 June, 2010