LIVERPOOL’S legal community gave a cool response to wide-ranging Government proposals to reform employment law.

Business Secretary Vince Cable unveiled a package of measures, including an overhaul of employment tribunals and moves which could see a reduction in the current 90-day consultation period when firms are planning to make more than 100 redundancies.

It is being described as the “most radical reform package for decades which will ease the duties on businesses when taking on, managing and letting go their staff, while also being fair to employees and ensure we have modern workplaces in Britain”.

But this was not a view shared by employment law specialists at the city’s law firms.

Steve Pinder, partner and head of employment at EAD Solicitors, said: “From my experience, many tribunal claims involve case types which have no service requirement, for example sex, race, disability discrimination (and others), and most dismissal cases involve workers with very short service or service well over two years.