Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to (a) extend access to employment tribunals, and (b) improve employment rights for employees with less than two years’ service.

The Government is investing over £1bn in a programme of modernisation and reform of the courts and tribunals. These reforms will be implemented over a number of years, with reform of the Employment Tribunals scheduled for the latter part of the reform programme.

We responded to the Taylor review of modern working practices in February 2018, committing to firm action and future legislation. We launched four consultations on the detail, including proposals that would improve clarity for recently recruited employees and a consultation on the enforcement of labour market rights. We are currently considering the responses and will respond in due course.

Qualifying periods apply to certain employment rights so as to strike the right balance between fairness for employees and flexibility for employers, and so that employers are not discouraged from taking on new staff.