The Enterprise or non-enterprise Tsar?

David Cameron's appointment of Lord Young as the new Enterprise Tsar (yes, the Russian Revolution happened over 90 years ago, but the British still like to appoint Tsars), did rather remind me of a scene from the play adaptation of Yes, Prime Minister, where Sir Humphrey ponders on the appointment of Tsars to tackle government policy. If you want to let the country know you are doing something - appoint a Tsar, even though they usually do little or make any real difference.

What made me laugh was that here we are trying to get the economy moving again, kick start a new entrepreneurial spirit and zeal amongst the business community and what happens, a relic from the House of Lords is rolled out, who wears bow ties to do this! Welcome to modern Britain. I assume he left the bowler hat and umbrella at home on this occasion.

However, on a serious note, his appointment does carry some real concern for me and I expect it will for many Employment Lawyers. There are rumours afloat that Lord Young may recommend that workers in small businesses will not be able to claim unfair dismissal rights for 2 years as part of the drive to cut bureaucracy. For me this is a disgrace. Limiting the right to make claims for unfair dismissal undermines the liberty of workers and their sense of empowerment. Why should a small business/large business, international corporate have the right to treat their employees unfairly and drive them out with no good cause? The law as it stands in my view is more than adequate. At present, an employee cannot claim ordinary unfair dismissal for the first 12 months and so the reality is that employers can dismiss employees relatively easily in the first year (unless discrimination is at play). Isn't that a fair balance for business? I think yes.

I am not for one a believer that limiting rights and empowerment leads to a more efficient and productive economy as is demonstrated with the French economy. Interestingly, statistics from the European Union show that France has a far more productive economy than the UK, even though workers work fewer hours and there are more enhanced employment rights, which suggests that greater rights for employees can benefit an economy. I believe that a more productive economy is generated if you involve workers in the business so that there is a sense of empowerment and ownership over work (therefore increasing a sense of pride and a willingness to work hard) - rather than the "us and them" approach in a company, which can be created if rights are limited.

So I put it to Lord Young that he should think long and hard before limiting employment rights and to think whether his goal of generating a more enterprise based economy can be achieved if workers' rights are further limited. I hope it is something the Liberal ministers in the coalition will resist.