Employment Law News

1. Welcome to the New World - fees in the Employment Tribunals & EAT
2. But can we have our money back, please?
3. Employee Shareholders: a game of Parliamentary ping-pong
4. The Queen's Speech
5. New Employment Tribunal Rules - but what, and when?
6. Conscientious Objection to specific duties - just how widely can it extend?
7. Enterprise & Regulatory Reform Act becomes law - and sweeps up a motley collection of employment law related matters
8. National Minimum Wage increases for October 2013
9. And finally ... the appearance of bias can stretch across 13 years

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If things go according to plan, Summer 2013 will at last see the end of the long-running fee-free jurisdictions of the Employment Tribunals and the EAT.

Having been in the pipeline for some time now, a Draft Order allowing for the introduction of fees in these Tribunals, and giving full details of their levels and when they will be payable, has been laid before Parliament. Having said "full details", many of the provisions allow for fees to be payable on "dates specified", either in notices accompanying notices of hearing or in those issued by the Lord Chancellor. Clearly we will need to wait and see the system in action before we know exactly when parties will need to get their cheque books out.

It's all very well introducing fees across more courts and tribunals in an effort to keep unmeritorious claims away, but there is always the risk of "throwing the baby out with the bath water". What about the deserving cases who simply cannot afford the fees? Legal Aid is less and less likely to be of any assistance - assuming, of course, it is even available for a particular jurisdiction in the first place.

Will it happen, won't it, will it, wont it...?

Throughout the last couple of months this has summed up the position of the Governments proposed introduction of an new status of employee, the Employee Shareholder. As fast as the House of Commons approved the provisions set out in Growth & Infrastructure Bill section 27, so the House of Lords voted them down. Finally, though, they have made it to the finishing line.

Given with all the traditional pomp and ceremony on 8th May was the Queen's Speech, setting out the Government's legislative programme for the coming year.

It included a number of employment law-related issues:

• Immigration Bill - businesses that use illegal labour will face increased fines;
• Pensions Bill - the increase in the retirement age to 67 to be brought forward by eight years, so it will now come in to force between 2026 and 2028;
• National Insurance Contributions Bill - This bill is designed to reduce the cost to small businesses of employing people. If it passes, from April 2014 every business and charity will be entitled to a £2,000 employment allowance. It also aims to stop the use of offshore companies that are sometimes used by companies to avoid paying their National Insurance contributions. The bill will remove the presumption of self-employment for limited liability partnership members; and
• Draft Deregulation Bill - includes exempting from health-and-safety legislation people who are self-employed and whose work poses no risk of harm to other people, and removing the ability of of employment tribunals to make wider recommendations in successful discrimination cases, which they were granted in the Equality Act 2010.

Back in the summer of 2012, Mr Justice Underhill presented the results of his fundamental review of the Employment Tribunal procedures. Following a consultation by BIS, it was announced that a new set of Rules of Procedure would come into force this year. A final version of the rules has still not been produced for public consumption; most of the recent focus seems to have been on the introduction of fees, rather than the new rules.

Termination of pregnancy remains one of the most controversial issues we have in our society. When Parliament legalised it by the Abortion Act 1967, it recognised that, despite all the strict procedural requirements and safeguards it sought to build in, nonetheless this would simply be a step too far for some people in the light of their ethical, moral or religious views.

For this reason, the Abortion Act 1967 contained a "conscientious objection" provision at section 4, whereby nurses and midwifes cannot be required to participate in the termination of a pregnancy.

On 25th April 2013, the Enterprise & Regulatory Reform Act 2013 became law, on receiving Royal Assent.

It is an enormous Act, but in Part 2 it brings into law a number of provisions which have been discussed by Emplaw Online and others over recent months, and which employment lawyers need to note. Key among these are:

The Government has settled on the rates of National Minimum Wage, as proposed by the Independent Low Pay Commission, to come into effect as of 1st October 2013:

• £6.31 per hour adult rate (increase by 12p);
• £5.03 per hour rate for 18-20 year olds (increase by 5p);
• £3.72 per hour rate for 16-17 year olds (increase by 4p);
• £2.68 per hour apprentice rate (increase by 3p);
• £4.91 per hour accommodation offset (increase by 9p).

The CBI welcomed the "careful balance" that had been struck; the TUC was more reserved, noting that it would have liked to have seen a higher increase, but focussed more on ensuring that there is proper enforcement of the NMW rates.

Experienced litigator Mr Healey brought an Employment Tribunal claim against Wincanton Group. The case came before Employment Judge Robinson, was duly heard, and the tribunal reserved its decision. So far, so good.