The government should not hamper businesses by rushing to introduce more family-friendly legislation, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has claimed.
The CBI hit out at speculation that the government is about to bring in more employment laws, arguing that changes will harm UK firms.
The employer lobby group said that ministers should wait for the review of family-friendly laws in 2006 before deciding to introduce further regulation.
The past year has seen a number of laws designed to improve employees’ work-life balance, such as flexible working regulations and improved maternity and paternity leave.
There has been speculation that new rights, such as extended holidays for new parents, will soon become law.
But Jones urged ministers not to act before the 2006 review, claiming that they had promised to stick to that timetable.
“The continual dropping of leaks and hints about extension of the rights is damaging business confidence in the process.
“If ministers have made up their minds without considering the possible negative consequences, they find it hard to win employer support for their ideas.
“We need to ensure any change is based on real evidence of effectiveness and value-added demand.
“Otherwise we will shoot ourselves in the foot by damaging the ability of companies to generate wealth and employment,” he said.
