David Davies MPIn a week when Left Foot Forward showed the Conservative party are exaggerating the rate of unemployment in this recession, Conservative MP for Monmouth, David Davies, has launched a blistering attack on workplace rights. But his statement in the Commons does not stack up.

In a week when Left Foot Forward showed the Conservative party are exaggerating the rate of unemployment in this recession, Conservative MP for Monmouth, David Davies, has launched a blistering attack on workplace rights. Speaking in an Opposition Day Commons debate last night, David Davies said:

“It is a fact of life that some people are not very good at their jobs. Some people are lazy and do not turn up for work on time, some people are inefficient, and some people are dishonest. I had cause to suspend a person for dishonesty in my own office, someone who was stealing money, and do you know what? It was absolutely impossible for me to dismiss that person. I tried everything. I went to see the solicitor and said, ‘This person has been filmed stealing my money,’ and I was still not able to sack her… “The point I am making is that people cannot be sacked easily enough.”

The solicitor in question clearly failed to refer to industry guidance on the matter. Business Link suggests:

“You can consider dismissing an employee on conduct grounds if they … commit some form of misconduct, ie something that breaches your disciplinary rules … If it’s gross misconduct, eg fighting or stealing, you could dismiss immediately.”

Meanwhile, employment lawyers Naomi Cunningham and Michael Reed on the website that accompanies their book “Employment Tribunal Claims: tactics and precedents” say:

“Gross misconduct is misconduct so serious that the employer is entitled to dismiss for a first offence. What that means depends in part on the individual workplace. Some offences will almost always be gross misconduct, whatever the character of the workplace. For instance, fighting, stealing, arson and deliberate falsification of time-sheets will mostly be in that category.”

Perhaps Mr Davies is pushing for deregulation to ensure that the Conservative party’s prophecy on unemployment becomes true.

Hat tip: @robnewman13

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