On plans to extend flexible working rights to parents with chilldren under the age of 16, Jackie Orme, CIPD chief executive, says:“This legislation is where the politicians’ favourites of hard working families and hard pressed small businesses come together.  Too many commentators and business bodies represent this as a clash.  But all our evidence shows that flexible working is good for employers and employees alike.”

The welform reform bill will abolish Income Support, while claimants moved onto either Jobseeker’s Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance if they are ill and benefit sanctions will be introduced for people who refuse to attend job centres and their partners will also have to look for work.

Tom Hadley, director of external relations at the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), says: “Public and private sector employment professionals are increasingly working together to help those currently excluded from the labour market.  As part of this new era of co-operation, the REC recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Jobcentre Plus which signals a joint commitment to providing effective guidance and support and securing the right job outcomes. Of course, there are some concerns that the new measures could result in a surge of individuals contacting agencies simply to meet new job-seeking requirements but with no real intention of finding suitable work. However, the reality is the vast majority of people genuinely want to work and professional recruiters are in the business of making that happen wherever possible.”  

John Philpott, director of public policy and chief economist at the CIPD, says: “Any introduction of sanctions has to be accompanied by a programme of support that encourages those out of work to develop their employability skills and qualifications while looking for work.   We recognise fully the loss in status and self-esteem for many workers.  However, we have to learn the lesson of previous recessions where no help or incentives were given to workers who were laid off who then became long-term unemployed.  This programme will help people be more job-ready and more likely to be in work when the economy picks up. Against the backdrop of rapidly rising unemployment, now is the time to invest in a programme that helps fill the half a million vacancies that still exist in the UK economy.”

The Equalities bill will unify nine current laws into a single piece of legislation addressing discrimination on the grounds of gender, race, sexuality or disability.

It will require firms to be “transparent” about pay structures, banning employers from imposing “secrecy” clauses on staff and allowing them to discuss their salary with colleagues.

Orme says: “While we welcome the simplification and clarification of existing discrimination legislation the government must be under no illusions that this will solve the problem on its own.  38 years after the Equal Pay Act the gender pay gap still stands at 17.1%. government should ensure new regulations are supported by clear, practical and user-friendly guidance for employers which promotes the business case for diversity.”

Sarah Gordon, chair of the REC’s diversity forum says: “We welcome the clear steer in today’s announcement that positive discrimination is in no way being advocated and that this agenda is not about ticking boxes and achieving quotas.  Progress does need to be made and recognising good practice in this area through the procurement process is one way of achieving this.  Professional recruiters already play a pivotal role in promoting diversity and equality and in helping employers deliver tangible change in this area.”

Catharine Pusey, director of The Employers Forum on Age says: “Our members support the government’s commitment to ending unfair age discrimination and we urge the government to announce the abolition of the Default Retirement Age as a crucial part of their commitment to rid the workplace of ageism. We welcomed the Civil Service’s decision last month to remove the unfair and discriminatory practice of insisting employees retire at 65 and hope that it helps focus the government’s mind on the importance of this issue.”   

Petra Wilton, director of policy and research, at the Chartered Management Institute says: ”It may have been a long-time coming, but this is certainly a welcome and definite move in the right direction.   Today the problem is that even in sectors and functions with a high percentage of female managers, there is a distinct gap in remuneration. The implication is that women are not achieving the best paid jobs in their own field.  It is imperative that government and organisations tackle the issue head on to ensure that career progression and reward are based on ability and achievement, rather than gender.”