The consultation proposes to reduce the length of notice given before an inspection, from eight weeks to 10 days.

Notice periods - the length of notice required from both parties.

The length of notice to which business executives are due varies greatly from company to company.

If the employee had one year's service he could claim unfair dismissal if there was something wrong with the decision to dismiss as opposed to the length of notice.

The minimum length of notice an employer must give an employee under Section 49 of the Employment Protection Act 1978 is one week when the employee has been employed between one month and two years.

That, however, does not justify a failure to include in the partnership agreement a clear and effective set of rules (as to length of notices, coincidence with accounting dates, and so on) settled with the interests of the firm and its continuing partners as the priority.