Recently the Government released its proposals to introduce fairness into the workplace.

They are reforms which will doubtless be welcomed by em-ployees, but which will pose some problems to employers.

There will be big changes to the law regarding unfair dismissal. Employees will have to work only 12 months before they will be able to claim that they have been unfairly dismissed. Secondly, the upper limit that an employee can claim as compensation for unfair dismissal will be abolished. Shorter qualification periods and higher compensatory awards will mean that employers who do not already have good employment practices or proper dismissal procedures in place will have to act quickly to avoid being caught.

Probably of more concern to most employers will be the potential staff shortages caused by the Government's policies for working families.

These include the creation of unpaid parental leave which will be available to all workers, both male and female, whenever a child is born or adopted by the worker's family. Moreover paid maternity leave available to female workers having a baby is to be extended to four-and-a-half months. Clearly employers will have to give some thought on how to cope with these staff absences. It is a problem that will have to be met squarely.

Any attempt to prevent an employee from exercising his rights will not be tolerated by the courts.

Jonathan Oxley is a partner with Lee & Priestley, solicitors, Bradford.

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