§ Mr. Onslowasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will commission studies of the effect of the Employment Protection Act on the willingness of employers to take on new employees.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerAs I indicated in my reply of 3rd May to the hon. Member for Manchester, Withington (Mr. Silvester) my Department and the Manpower Services Commission have jointly commis-452W sioned a study of the effect of recent employment legislation upon companies' employment practices and policies.
§ Mr. Onslowasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will commission studies of the effect of the Employment Protection Act on the attitude of employers to dishonesty on the part of employees.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerNo. I doubt whether the Employment Protection Act has had an effect on the attitude of employers towards dishonesty on the part of their employees. It may be, however, that the unfair dismissal provisions of the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1974, and of the Employment Protection Act 1975, have encouraged employers to develop orderly, reasonable and fair procedures for dismissing unsatisfactory, including dishonest, employees. I certainly hope that this is the case.