The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has welcomed news that the government is acting upon the Gibbons review recommendations made earlier this year, particularly in reference to scrapping the statutory dispute resolution procedures.

According to CIPD research, around a third (29 per cent) of employers believe disputes are less likely to be resolved informally following the introduction of the statutory dispute resolution procedures in October 2004, which introduced minimum three-step disciplinary and grievance procedures.

The bills contained within the Government’s draft legislative programme were unveiled yesterday, 11 July 2007. There was more good news for HR practitioners involved in skills and pension.

Commenting on the Education and Skills Bill, Martyn Sloman, skills adviser at the CIPD said:

“Many of the proposals contained within the education and skills bill are aimed at giving young people and lower-skilled employees’ access to training. The duty on employers to release young people to undertake training and check that they are participating before employing them is particularly noteworthy.”

Sloman warns, however, that employers should avoid taking on the role of ‘policy enforcer’ when it comes to checking that training is being carried out.

And on pensions Charles Cotton, CIPD reward adviser welcomed many of the proposals contained in the Pensions Bill saying they would improve access to occupational pension schemes without harming employers or existing pension arrangements.

“As CIPD research shows, the introduction of mandatory employer contributions would not lead to a levelling down of existing pension arrangements. Such an introduction also levels the playing field between companies, which may stimulate fairer competition.”