Contrary to recent press articles in which some commentators and the British Chamber of Commerce claimed that employment law is strangling the British economy and stifling competition throughout Europe, the TUC has recently claimed that in fact employment law is good for our economy.

Despite claims that employment is over-regulated in the UK, the OECD actually ranks the UK’s labour market as one of the least regulated in the world.

The TUC claims that employment protections which have been introduced since 1997 have helped working parents and the low paid without damaging competitiveness. Some of the policies which have been frequently dubbed as unnecessary bureaucracy by some business organisation such as the national minimum wage, extended and paid parental leave, reductions in the qualifying period for unfair dismissal and great union recognition have raised incomes for the lower paid workers, helped women back into work and encouraged people to stay in the same job longer. In turn, they have allowed people to complete more training at work, the promotion of equality in the workplace and improved standards of living.

In fact, the TUC goes as far as arguing that employment protection laws have helped the UK ride out the recession much quicker than in the early 90s and without having to resort to mass redundancies.