Well we finally know the outcome of the general election and we now have a coalition government. It is early days and one cannot be sure on the precise impact the coalition government's policies are going to have on the area of industrial relations and employment law.

However the government does intend to start to introduce the cuts and efficency savings set out in the conservative manifesto. This will no doubt be met by opposition by public sector trade unions and so we are likely to see industrial unrest in this area of the economy.

Private sector employers may also need to focus on cost control and efficiency as the public sector cuts impact on the economy generally.

Of course the new coalition government have a different attitude to Labour on employment law. Reports are that the coalition government has already set out that it will work to limit the application of the Working Time Directive in the UK and that it intends to phase out the default retirement age of 65.

No mention has yet been made of changes to the newly passed Equality Act. However the conservatives when in opposition suggested they would not adopt the socio-economic duty, or the new positive action provisions. In addition they were opposed to certain equal pay amendments.

So we will have to wait and see.

However, it seems that one way or another it will be an active time for those in the employment law and industrial relations field.

We are in the process of updating our guide notes on dealing with industrial action in anticipation of client demand. In addition it seems that there will probably still be a high level of tribunal activity. Our anecdotal experience is that there is still a heavy tribunal case load in the system. Indeed we have had a few cases postponed at the last minute by the tribunal service as they have insufficent resources to deal with the workload.

With austerity measures and the increase in cases that are anticipated by the Equality Act it does not seem things will get any easier.

If any readers want any employment law support or to subscribe to our free guides or newsletter then contact me at robert.kerr@shieldhr.co.uk or tel 024 7669606.