Letter: Reverting to type

I DISAGREE with Harris Keillar's assertion that ending the right to a free employment tribunal is somehow a step forward (Letters, 29 January).

Someone who has been dismissed from work is likely to be in a state of financial chaos and may be deterred from standing up to a rogue employer for that reason alone.

Increasing the time limit from one year to two before a claim can be made - also proposed by the government - will also encourage unscrupulous employers to reduce their workforce without having to pay redundancy.

The UK has some of the most backward employment laws in Europe. The Thatcherite 1980s showed us that, left to their own devices, some employers both large and small will behave appallingly. One had hoped that David Cameron's "new" Conservatives would be more progressive in their attitude to workers' rights. Sadly, it seems that they cannot help themselves reverting to type, Victorian Values, Norman Tebbit et al.

GAVIN FLEMING

Webster's Land

Grassmarket, Edinburgh