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06 July 2012 / Charles Pigott
Issue: 7521 / Categories: Features , Tribunals , Disciplinary&grievance procedures , Employment
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As clear as mud

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The waters are still muddied over Beecroft “sack on the spot” proposals, notes Charles Pigott

The government’s plans for no-fault dismissal are still unclear, despite the publication of the full Beecroft report last month, and the debate on the second reading of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill on 11 June.

The story so far

When selected pages of Adrian Beecroft’s review of employment law were leaked last year, they exposed one of his most controversial ideas. This was a “compensated no-fault dismissal” regime, which would allow employers to fire more or less at will, provided a minimum level of compensation was provided. Little additional detail was given, and the proposals were reportedly dismissed at the time by Vince Cable as “bonkers”.

However, these ideas re-surfaced, in a modified form, in a call for evidence published by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) in March 2012. Entitled Dealing with dismissal and “compensated no-fault dismissal” for micro businesses, it transformed the original Beecroft idea into a specific exemption for

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