Research finds that laws do not hinder

The Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) has published new research into employment relations — Employer Perceptions and the Impact of Employment Regulation.

This wholly undermines the government’s claims that employment regulations stifle growth and job creation because employers are deterred from hiring and firing.

The report confirms that employers are actually often supportive of a regulatory framework for the employment relationship.

Particularly interesting findings include the fact that, when employers were asked about how they recruited and managed their employees, “employment regulation rarely emerged as a key driver”.

And employers “were not consciously aware of the impact of regulation on their practices”.

If employers don’t know that changes to employment laws are taking place, cutting regulation cannot impact on their fears.

One particularly telling finding by the researchers was that four years after its abolition, many employers still believe the law contains a statutory dispute resolution procedure.

However, as set out in its recently-published Progress on reform, these findings have not stopped the government spinning the report as evidence that “employers, particularly those in small businesses, are concerned about the impact of employment law on their businesses” to justify the need to push through change.