The government has announced a series of concessions on union rights.

Trade secretary Patricia Hewitt outlined plans to improve trust between trade unions and the government when the Employment Relations Bill received its second reading in the Commons on Wednesday.

Forum Response: Institute of Directors

Richard Wilson, business policy executive, said: "The Bill contains an assortment of measures, of varying degrees of merit. Some aspects of the proposed legislation, for example, the measures designed to protect individuals who request flexible working from unfair dismissal, are perfectly reasonable.

"Similarly, although the IoD did not support the introduction of compulsory trade union recognition under the Employment Relations Act 1999, most of the measures in the Bill relating to this matter should be broadly acceptable to business. Much of this section of the Bill clarifies existing arrangements.

"However, the IoD does not support the provisions in the Bill that enact the European Union's Information and Consultation Directive into UK law. Firstly, the Directive is unnecessary in practice because many business owners already communicate with their employees.

"Secondly, the Directive is wrong in principle because it conflicts with the principle of subsidiarity, whereby decisions within the EU should be taken at the lowest possible level.

"Thirdly, on the government's own estimates, the cost of implementing the Directive could amount to at least £430 million over ten years.

"Indeed, the IoD agreed with Lord Sainsbury of Turville when he stated: 'The government see no need for the proposed directive establishing a general framework for informing and consulting employees in the European Community, which is difficult to reconcile with subsidiarity and would cut across member state traditions to no benefit'."

Forum Response: Federation of Small Businesses

John Walker, policy chairman, said: "Common commencement dates are a good idea for small firms. They offer certainty and stability to people who run businesses. But they shouldn't be seen as an open door for yet more regulations."Most businesses with less then 20 employees do not have a dedicated HR manager, and so it is down to the owners themselves to monitor changes in employment law.

"The volume and rate of change of new employment regulations in recent years has made this extremely challenging for even the most conscientious employer. These common commencement dates will help employers to keep up and allow them to budget and plan ahead."Another consequence of this move is that it will show just how many changes small employers have to deal with each year."