The Queen’s Speech, the first for two years, proposed changes to family and employment law, while it is also included provisions which, it is hoped, will give the elderly and disabled more of a say in the care they receive. A social care bill will order councils to implement services which are more tailored to the needs of the patients using them, rather than expecting them to fit in with what is available. Also, in social care, existing laws are to be streamlined and fitted into one single statute which will establish Health Education England and the Health Research Authority as non-departmental public bodies.
In terms of family law, the Speech did highlight the government’s intention, widely trailed, that it will introduce more flexible leave for parents. The government says that it will bring in a new Children and Families Bill which will result in fathers being able to share parental leave with the mother and which will also give them greater access to children in the event of a divorce. Though the Queen’s Speech didn’t specify exactly how the more flexible parental leave would work, it is thought likely that mothers will be able to return to work and simply transfer as much as nine months of the year’s leave to the father, allowing him to get paid for taking time off to raise his child.
Not surprisingly reaction has been mixed. Though family organisations welcome the move, business groups condemn it. The British Chambers of Commerce says that it will inevitably lead to more complexity and uncertainty for businesses as to who is taking the leave and how much. It also says that, at the very time that ministers are relying on the private sector to create jobs and lead the economy back to growth, these proposals are an unwanted distraction.
While a government review into family law last year was reluctant to bring in more rights to fathers who have separated from the mother, the Queen’s Speech has committed the government to bringing in a consultation to possibly changing the law to enable both parents to have a relationship with their children after they divorce, assuming it is safe to do so. The government is also looking at cutting the time that family court cases take to get resolved, down to six months, while it is also committed to reducing the level of bureaucracy in adoption cases which currently don’t allow parents to take children from a different ethnic background from themselves.
In terms of employment law, as had been expected, the Queen’s Speech included an announcement that the government will make alterations to the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, which should make it easier for firms to dismiss a member of staff. The changes will give judges the final say in deciding unfair dismissal claims rather than the current tribunal panel which includes a lay member and trade union representative. Another change will see workers who take claims to tribunals being charged higher fees in a bid to cut down on the number of vexatious claims.
Though there was a general welcome from business for these proposals, some said that they simply tinkered with the edges and didn’t go far enough. There was also concern that plans to force companies to go to mediation with sacked workers would add another administration layer, leading to more cost and delay.
Time will tell if, first the proposals included in the Queen’s Speech make it into the statute books and also, whether they then make the differences the government claims.