Review of Employment Legislation 2011/12

Presentation by Sarah Veale, Head, Equality and Employment Rights Department, TUC

Review Of Employment Legislation

• Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill• Red Tape Challenge• Employment Tribunals – fees and procedures• Unfair dismissal and protected conversations• Collective redundancies and TUPE• Parental rights and flexible working • Other – Lofstedt, trade union law, time off

Review of Dispute resolution

• Early ACAS conciliation – Pre claim conciliation• How this will fit into other reforms

Red Tape Challenge• Regulation and the economy – case for de-regulation not proved• The business case?• Employers’ Charter

Modernising Employment Tribunals

• Underhill review of procedures – wider strike out powers

• Meanwhile caps for deposit orders have gone up to £1,000 and for costs to £20,000

• Witnesses – statements and expenses• Judges to sit alone for unfair dismissal

cases

Fees for Employment Tribunals

• Fee for lodging the claim and fee for the hearing;• Additional fee for higher value claims (over £30,000 has

been dropped• Remission system – consultation ongoing• Employer to pay the applicant’s fee if the applicant wins• Handling multiples

Unfair dismissal• Extension of the qualifying period – April 2012• Beecroft proposals for compensated no fault

compensated dismissal to replace unfair dismissal protection apparently dropped but ...

• “Settlement agreements” included in Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill and

• decrease in maximum award; will depress the median award and hit middle income workers particularly hard

Other areas: TU law• The dog that has barked but not

bitten (yet!)• Balloting – “Yes” vote thresholds –

40 or 50%• Bans on strikes in essential services• Allow use of agency workers• Tightening definition of a trade

dispute

Settlement Agreements• Emerged from business lobby following

removal of the default retirement age• Similar to “no prejudice” agreements

but pre-dispute• Fraught with practical and legal

difficulties• License to bully and harass• Would have to exclude discrimination

Settlement Agreements

• Statutory grievance and disciplinary procedures Mark II?

• Satellite litigation• The irony of a de-regulatory

government proposing to regulate conversations in the workplace!

Other issues• Union facility time – no change to the law but huge political pressure in

the public sector• Whistleblowing – remove a loophole that allowed personal contracts to be

included• Consolidation of some H&S and NMW regulations• Lofstedt review of health and safety• TUPE revision – service provision and Cas• Collective redundancies – time limits and nature of consultees

Done and Dusted?

• Equality Act – PS duty weakened; equal pay provisions not commenced; dual discrimination scrapped;

• Other likely casualties – “reforms” to the EH

• Agency workers

Agency Workers•TUC/CBI agreement underpinning EU Directive;

covered GB only•12 week qualifying period

•“Swedish” derogation – workers employed directly by the agency exempted

•No evidence of collapse in use of agency workers; collective agreements

•Legal challenges? TUC complaint to EC

The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill

• Heading for the House of Lords – could still be amended to include new areas of employment law reform

• Employment regulation remains highly politicised with right wing Tory “Trade Union Reform Campaign” and Tax Payers’ Alliance

• TUC campaign continues, focussing on ET fees and CR reforms