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Stripping labour rights “complete nonsense“, says Cable

The Business Secretary Vince Cable has labelled plans to cut employment red tape by stropping down labour rights and making it easier to sack staff as “complete nonsense,”.

Attacking rivals who have offered their support to the scheme, he condemned them as “ideological zealots who want to encourage British firms to fire at will,”.

Dr Cable made his comments in response to a study recommending radical employment reforms, which would give firms more flexibility to make redundancies and would ease equality rules to boost job creation.

Responding to the proposals, DR Cable wrote in The Sun: “Some people think that if labour rights were stripped down to the most basic minimum, employers would start hiring and the economy would soar again.

“British workers are an asset, not just a cost for company bosses. That is why I am opposed to the ideological zealots who want to encourage British firms to fire at will.”

The proposed reforms also include reducing the 90 day consultation period for redundancies to 30 days, and a five day period of a company is in distress, a cap on loss of earnings compensation for employees making successful unfair dismissal claims and reforms worker rights when they are subject to a takeover. Provisions from the Equality Act are also set to be scrapped.

While the Prime Minister has expressed his commitment to helping businesses grow, Dr Cable is concerned that the current proposals could have a damaging effect on confidence.

He added: “I talk to businesses every day and none of them tell me that their biggest obstacle to employment and growth is troublesome workers who they can’t get rid of.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .