Regional MP adds voice to calls for simpler dismissal procedures

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Micro Businesses, of which Mr Smith and Anne Marie Morris, MP for Newton Abbot, are co-chairs, advocates the introduction of a one page “small firms dismissal code”, similar to the system used in Australia. It says it would mean moving from 12 pages in the current Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) code to one. The group is supporting the concept of “compensated no fault dismissal” where, it says, in return for compensation, micro business employers would be able to terminate a contract with an employee without going through a performance review and dismissal process. The Government is conducting a review of the current employment framework. Its consultation ends on June 8.

In a joint statement, Mr Smith and Ms Morris said: “The Government has sought to simplify regulation in areas such as schools. We also need to radically simplify the rules and regulation impacting our smallest businesses. The Budget 2012 has introduced the idea of tax simplification for micro businesses – we believe employment law simplification is needed as well.

“But it is not just the case of simplifying existing processes – it is about a radical new approach to give our smallest businesses the confidence to take on staff without the fear of a complex and costly process if things go wrong.”

Mr Smith added that micro businesses to be “set free from the red tape and fear of unfair dismissal claims”.