Eric Ollerenshaw
Main Page: Eric Ollerenshaw (Conservative - Lancaster and Fleetwood)Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill
Eric Ollerenshaw Excerpts
Eric Ollerenshaw (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Con)
It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Bolton West (Julie Hilling), who chairs the all-party group on rail in the north, of which I am a member. I agree with her so much about rail investment but, with regard to the particular points she has made, I do not believe that the Government are leading us back to the 19th century and will say something about that in a minute.
I will begin by talking about the aspects of the Bill on which people agree. I am pleased that most Members agree that the establishment of the green investment bank is a good thing and, like other Members, look forward to a time when it can lever in private sector investment. However, I would have preferred us to open up the location of the bank and suggest that it could have gone to a greener area, perhaps in the north of England, and perhaps to some small, historic town such as Lancaster, but I accept that it was a Government decision and will not be reopened.
I welcome the Bill’s enabling powers giving shareholders greater control over the pay of their company directors. Given recent trends, it is right that those powers should be considered. I also welcome the measures to cut bureaucracy and red tape. For as long as I can remember, Governments have talked about cutting red tape but it rarely happens in practice. In stark contrast, the Government have already introduced a one-in, one-out rule for regulation. The notable exception is my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, who has gone for twice as much by introducing a rule in his Department whereby two pieces of legislation must be scrapped for every new measure brought in, which I think should be the gold standard we aim for.
The Bill moves forward the cause of smaller government and a freer business environment, with sunset clauses on new regulations, a reduction in various inspection regimes and the repeal of many regulations that have been deemed unnecessary. I am sure that many more will be identified over the coming months and sincerely hope that the battle against regulation continues throughout this Parliament. This Bill is just a start.
I have referred to my disagreements with the hon. Member for Bolton West and others, and what I really want to deal with is employment tribunals, directing my remarks at the clauses that deal with employment and workplace disputes. Other Government Members, such as my hon. Friend the Member for Northampton South (Mr Binley), are passionate about the issue, and we all agree that small businesses and, below them, micro-businesses are the lifeblood of this country and where real growth will come from. Cuts in the rate of corporation tax may help to attract big business to invest in the UK and are welcome, but, if we want more small businesses to start up and to succeed, we need to make it easier for them to employ people and to manage their staff effectively.
Opposition Members do not understand the issue, as was shown by the hon. Member for Bolton West when she talked about paying, because in a micro-business the boss is the HR department, the sales person, the production manager and the health and safety officer.
That issue has been raised with me, and I have one, real example to back up what my hon. Friend the Member for Stourbridge (Margot James) said. An employer wrote to me, saying:
“Employing people is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, by some considerable distance.”
He already had investments in various houses, and he went on to buy a small café, with the hope of establishing it and building it up. He employed two full timers and, for mainly busier days and to cope at weekends, a few more part-time staff, but he was forced to make some redundant when financial circumstances took a downward turn, so he naturally kept on those employees whom he found best at their job, who had a good attitude and who were flexible.
One employee who lost their job threatened to take my constituent to a tribunal, however, on the grounds of age and sex discrimination, later adding religious discrimination, too, unless they were paid £1,200. The hon. Member for Bolton West may think that the employer should have just paid up, but, for the owner of a micro-business—a café—with a couple of employees, £1,200 would have meant his profits gone for a few weeks.
A meeting was therefore convened, but the decision remained the same, in support of the employer, so the ex-employee went to a tribunal, the stage at which my constituent feels the whole system is organised against employers. He had no recourse to free legal advice, but his ex-employee found immediate help from Citizens Advice and, subsequently, a pro bono barrister. My constituent had to defend himself because he could not afford legal assistance.
The ex-employee’s claim went up from £1,200 to £4,500 and, by the time it was heard at the tribunal, had increased by almost tenfold to £10,000, partly because the NHS had advised that legal action be taken against my constituent for injury to feelings.
I find that part of the story strange, because I can fully understand an NHS therapist confirming in writing that someone’s health had suffered as a result of losing their job, but I do not see why or how they should advise people to take their employer to court.
The case went on for 11 months, with my constituent representing himself while trying to run his café and organise it during a downturn. Eventually the tribunal found in his favour, concluding that the employee was sacked for financial and flexibility reasons, as well as for performance and attitude issues.
The case finally came to an end, but my constituent was out of pocket, having had to appear by himself at all tribunal hearings, and I am sorry to say that he has now decided to sell his business. He never wants to go through such a battle again, and he has made it clear that, if people ask him for advice on setting up their own business, he will tell them not to bother as it is not worth the stress, strain and hassle. That is not only sad for him and for other businesses, but bad for the local economy and for local people looking for work, because as business picked up I am sure that my constituent would have ratcheted up his part-time work force.
We need to ensure that such scenarios do not damage businesses. I do not know what Labour Members get in their post, but people from micro and small businesses continually repeat to me their experiences of the problem of employment. As my hon. Friend the Member for Bedford (Richard Fuller) made clear, we are not talking about attempting to allow employers to sack more but giving them the confidence to hire more and take people out of unemployment. I gave the example that I did because of its particular nature. The sad fact is that that business is now lost to my town because of the inflexibility of the tribunal system.
I commend what Front Benchers are trying to do in improving the situation, and I look to further improvements when the Bill goes into Committee. We need to get employment up and give employers the confidence to take people on. At the end of the day, a micro-business owner wants their employees to do well because it is their business; he or she is working alongside them. It is not some great game. Unfortunately, because of current regulations, the situation has become inequitable and costly for employers, who are doing what my constituent has done and refusing to take on more staff, which is bad for all of us.