§ Mr. SpringTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the cost to business of the European Directive on Parental Leave. [45320]
§ Alan JohnsonThe costs to business of the implementation of the Directive were assessed in a Regulatory Impact Assessment published in 1999 when the Maternity and Parental leave etc. Regulations 1999 were introduced in the UK. At this time, the total costs to business were estimated to be £42 million per year. A further Regulatory Impact Assessment was made when the parental leave regulations were extended in January 2002 to include parents of children aged under five on 15 December 1999. The costs to business of this extension were estimated to be between £7 million and £41 million. Copies of both Regulatory Impact Assessments were placed in the Libraries of the House on publication.
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§ Mr. SpringTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the cost to business of the European Directive on Working Time. [45318]
§ Alan JohnsonWhen the Working Time Directive was implemented in October 1998 the broad immediate cost to business was estimated at £1.9 billion. This was increased by £0.4 billion when the paid annual leave entitlement rose from three to four weeks in 1999, and by £30 million with the removal of the 13 week paid annual leave qualifying period in October 2001. The reduction in the record keeping requirements resulting from the 199 amendments to the Working Time Regulations reduced these costs by £13 million.
§ Mr. SpringTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the cost to business of the European Directive on Pregnant Workers. [45322]
§ Alan JohnsonThe Pregnant Workers Directive was adopted in October 1992, and included measures to encourage improvements in the health and safety at work of pregnant workers and workers who have recently given birth or who are breastfeeding. It included, in particular, provisions entitling workers to minimum periods of maternity leave and setting minimum standards for pay or allowances during maternity leave.
The UK already had in place various statutory provisions for maternity leave and pay prior to the Directive. Some changes were subsequently made as a result of the Directive, and other changes have been made, for unrelated reasons, in the intervening years. The Government has therefore made no recent assessment of the costs of the Directive on its own.
§ Mr. SpringTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the cost to business of the European Directive on Part Time Workers. [45321]
§ Alan JohnsonAn assessment of the costs of implementing this Directive was made in the Regulatory Impact Assessment which the Government published alongside the Part Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000. A copy was placed in the Libraries of the House on publication, and is available on the DTI website at www.dti.gov.uk/er/review.htm. The RIA estimated that direct costs to employers would he around £27.4 million a year.
§ Mr. SpringTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the cost to business of the European Directive on European Works Councils. [45319]
§ Alan JohnsonThe Department commissioned an independent report into the costs associated with introducing the European Works Council Directive based on a survey of companies with experience of operating such Councils. The results of this study were incorporated into a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA), a copy of which is available in the Library and on the DTI website. The RIA identified a range of potential benefits from European Works Councils for employers, employees and the economy as a whole. The benefits in terms of improving industrial relations, boosting 803W productivity and facilitating change would be felt in the longer term and could not be separately quantified. The costs to individual firms of organising European Works Council meetings were expected to range from £47,000 per year to £175,000 depending on the size of the undertaking. This represents a very small proportion of their turnover, and a valuable investment in improved employer-employee relations.
§ Mr. SpringTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the cost to business of the European Directive on Young Workers. [45323]
§ Alan JohnsonThe Department for Trade and Industry implemented the rest periods and health assessment provisions of the European Directive on Young Workers in respect of those aged from minimum school leaving age to 18th birthday, through the Working Time Regulations 1998. Around 18,000 young workers were estimated to be affected by the implementation of health assessments for adolescent night workers; the costs are estimated to be minimal.
Implementation of the European Directive on Young Workers below minimum school leaving age is the responsibility of the Department of Health.