No fault dismissal may be on the cards

Rules for dismissing employees may soon undergo a dramatic shift as the government considers allowing dismissal without cause on payment of a statutory compensation payment.  This statutory payment would effectively be a redundancy payment.

As the proposed legislation would affect almost all who employ domestic staff of all kinds: nannies, housekeepers, housekeepers cooks, carers, etc., the outcome could both make the decision to employ staff easier, and ease the transition process when an arrangement “simply isn’t working”.

Kicking off what would be a sea-change in employment law, the government issued a “Call for Evidence” when interested and involved parties were invited to give evidence and views, which ended on 8 June 2012.

The issue is by no means settled or uncontested.  There are some people in agreement of a need for a simpler code for smaller employers, but many do not agree with going down the No Fault Dismissal route and believe the regulations can be simplified without this.

One of the reasons the government is citing for the proposal is to encourage employment by reducing or softening the concerns of smaller employers or potential employers deciding whether or not to take on staff.

Smaller employers will be defined as those with 10 or fewer employees.