LETTER: Unfair burden on employers

Sir: If a person provides employment to a worker for one day then the employer is seen as doing the worker a good turn and is in no way under an obligation to that worker. One might assume that if the employer provided employment for a longer period (say five years), then he would be seen as doing the worker an even better turn and not under any obligation to the worker.

That is not the case. The employer is expected to assume all sorts of responsibilities, some very onerous indeed, thus discouraging the hiring of staff ("Tories clash over plan to scrap job rights", 8 March).

If society, and the government which represents it, believes that workers should be aided by compensation when losing their jobs then the government and taxpayers should foot the bill. In fact such an arrangement would cost the taxpayers nothing. The economy would be stimulated, thus increasing tax revenues while reducing the cost of unemployment pay.

R E G Simmerson

London W4