Employers may have to assess the psychological health of their staff if considering whether to make any of them redundant in future, according to draft European Union proposals.
The proposed new directive, which the European Parliament is scheduled to vote on in November, would also mean that bosses had to evaluate the impact of job cuts on their local community.
Details, which were drawn up by Spanish MEP Alejandro Cercas, came to light in a document published by the Parliament’s employment and social affairs committee.
It said: “Companies shall monitor…the psycho-social health of employees affected by restructuring processes. Companies shall create tools for the regular evaluation and reporting on their restructuring practices, in co-operation with employees’ representatives and the external organisations involved in that process.”
But Tim Thomas, head of employment policy at manufacturing industry body EEF, told the Daily Express that the rules would make it far harder for employers to make staff redundant than was currently the case.
“The UK is trying to overhaul employment law but faces constant tinkering from the EU. Under these proposals, employers will have to negotiate with unions over redundancies in a way they don’t at the moment,” he said.
