Currently employers have to consult for a minimum of 30 days on redundancies of between 20 and 99 staff while businesses making 100 or more jobs cuts have to consult for 90 days.

Under new measures announced yesterday (18 December) by employment relations minister Jo Swinson the government will cut the current 90-day minimum before large-scale redundancies can take place to 45 days.

Swinson said that the move, which is expected to come into force in April next year, was "backed up by hard evidence".

She added: "The UK has a labour market that is flexible, efficient and fair but some of our laws need reform to respond to an ever changing employment landscape.

"The process is usually completed well within the existing 90-day minimum period, which can cause unnecessary delays for restructuring, and make it difficult for those affected to get new jobs quickly."

But Unite launched a scathing attack on the government saying that the decision was was one of the most regressive and anti-job measures taken by any administration.

General secretary Len McCluskey said: "Scything back the consultation period for larger scale redundancies, from 90 days to 45 days, is akin to hanging a massive 'exit here' notice across Britain's businesses.

"Unite seriously questions what so-called evidence the government has to support this proposal. Had the government taken its own consultation exercise seriously and listened to the trade unions, it would have seen that evidence clearly shows the 90 day period is vital.  It allows us to work with willing businesses to find solutions to problems, saving jobs and businesses.

McCluskey called the government "clueless" and "underhand" in "sneaking this out" at the end of the year. He added: "We will oppose this measure and every other attempt to attack workers' rights, which are already some of the most lax in Europe.  This is nothing more than a desperate effort to pander to big business, paid for by the sacrifice of hard won rights of working people.  Vince Cable should hang his head in shame."

The change will be brought in on 6 April 2013 through secondary legislation. It is part of a wider review that will also see the government legislate to ensure that lapsed fixed term contracts are excluded from collective redundancy consultation while new Acas guidance will be issued to improve the consultation process.

However, Dani Novick, managing director of print and packaging recruitment firm Mercury Search and Selection, backed the move.

She said: "This is not about making it easier to sack people as has been stated in some inflammatory comments.  If redundancies are going to happen they are going to happen and the longer notice period does not prevent that.

"What we do see is many people faced with redundancy having to make the tough choice between accepting a new job and losing redundancy payments or hanging on to the bitter end in order to received their redundancy and missing opportunities for a new job.

"Faced with similar candidates where one is immediately available and the other is not available for several months it is not hard to see that employers don’t need to and won’t wait."

British Chamber of Commerce also welcomed the move saying that it would help firms remain flexible. This was echoed by the Forum of Private Business which said it would allow employers to make changes quickly when faced with difficult choices.

Policy advisor Robert Downes said: "In theory it could help more firms keep their head above water and survive if it means they can keep costs down. It could even mean fewer redundancies."

He added: "While it means some workers would lose their jobs quicker, on the plus side it means those whose positions are at risk but ultimately aren’t selected will know much sooner that their position is safe.

"Under the present system the matter would drag on for another 45 days with workers having to deal with the fear of losing their jobs continuing to hang over them.

"There’s also the argument that employers are more likely to recruit if they know they can make changes faster if things don’t turn out as they’d planned. So this could be good for employment figures in the long term too."Tweet