Clause 10
Employment Bill [Lords]
12:30 pm
Jonathan Djanogly (Shadow Minister, Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform; Huntingdon, Conservative)
I understand the hon. Gentleman’s point, but it is not in tune with the reality. In the past, I have been involved in advising companies on the outcome of Office of Fair Trading raids, for instance, and know that the impact of removing documents, even if at an investigatory stage when no charges have been made, can be devastating to a company’s business. I am not claiming that there will not be situations in which that will not be the correct way to go ahead. He mentioned the example of companies making it difficult to get access to the photocopier. If the company was making it difficult, the documents should be taken away, but my concern in that regard is that the starting point is that there should be as little disruption as possible. I am not sure that the clause, as drafted, would ensure that that is the case. We could improve the drafting.