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The Employment Bill 2001 was introduced
in the House of Commons on 8 November 2001
by The Secretary of State for Trade and
Industry. The Bill completed its Commons
Committee phase on 24 January 2002. The
previously published version (Bill 44) has
been replaced by a new version (Bill 86), as
amended in Commons Standing Committee F,
which was published on 30 January 2002. The
Report and Third Reading of the Bill will
take place in February 2002. The
Employment Bill is a wide ranging package.
It covers work and parents, dispute
resolution in the workplace, improvements to
employment tribunal procedures, including
the introduction of an equal pay
questionnaire, provisions to implement the
Fixed Term Work Directive, a new right to
time off work for union learning
representatives, work focused interviews for
partners of people receiving working-age
benefits and some data sharing provisions.
Policy Commitment.
The Bill supports the Government’s
commitment to create highly productive,
modern and successful workplaces through
fairness and partnership at work. It will
deliver a balanced package of support for
working parents, at the same time as
reducing red tape for employers by
simplifying rules governing maternity,
paternity and adoption leave and pay, and
make it easier to settle disputes in the
workplace.
It marks a significant step towards the
Government’s Election Manifesto commitment
to “help parents devote more time to their
children early in life” and meets the
Manifesto commitment to examine reforms
which promote efficiency and fairness.
The Government tabled an amendment to the
Employment Bill on Tuesday, 15 January to
give legislative effect to the
recommendations made by the Work and Parents
Taskforce last November.
Provisions of the Bill
Participation and retention and
development of skills
The Bill will have a real impact on
people’s lives benefiting business,
parents and, above all, children. It
will:
Entitlement to 6 months paid
and a further 6 months unpaid
maternity leave.
A total increase of over 60%
in the rate of Statutory
Maternity Pay and Maternity
Allowance from £62 to £100.
Over 300, 000 mothers each
year will benefit from the
increases in maternity pay to
£100 per week and increase to
the period of maternity pay to
26 weeks.
- Recognise the role fathers
and adoptive parents play in
caring for their new children
and supporting their partners
2 weeks paid paternity
leave for working fathers.
6 months paid and a
further 6 months unpaid
leave for working adoptive
parents.
Simpler rules governing
maternity, paternity and
adoption leave and pay.
Paternity and adoption
pay at the same rate as
maternity pay.
- Facilitate flexible
working
The Bill will place a
duty on employers to
give serious
consideration to
requests from parents of
young children to work
flexibly.
For the first time
mothers and fathers of
young children will have
a right to apply to work
a flexible working
arrangement.
Employers will be
able to refuse requests
where they have a clear
business reason.
Employers will
benefit, as new
parents with their
valuable skills and
knowledge will be
encouraged to stay
in work rather than
leave to care
full-time for their
new families.
Increased
notification periods
for a woman’s start
and early return
date from maternity
leave.
Advance recovery
of Statutory
Maternity, Paternity
and Adoption Pay
from Inland Revenue.
Reimbursement of
maternity, paternity
and adoption
payments made by
employers, with a
full 100%
recoverable by small
employers and a
further compensation
payment on top.
Dispute Resolution.
The Bill aims to help
to build constructive
employment relations and
avoid the need for
litigation through
better communication in
the workplace and
improved conciliation.
It will ensure a modern
user-focused tribunal
system providing swift
and efficient justice.
It will:
- Encourage
internal resolution
of workplace
disputes by
introducing minimum
internal
disciplinary and
grievance
procedures;
encouraging
employees to raise
grievances with
their employer
before applying to
the tribunal;
providing limited
extension to time
limits for lodging a
tribunal complaint
to allow procedures
to complete;
allowing variation
of tribunal awards
to support use of
the procedures.
- Facilitate
better understanding
of the employment
relationship though
wider compliance
with the written
statement of
employment
particulars and
removal of the
20-employee
threshold on
provision of
information on
disciplinary and
grievance
procedures.
- Alter the way
unfair dismissals
are judged so that,
provided the minimum
standards set out in
the Bill are met and
the dismissal is
otherwise fair,
procedural
shortcomings can be
disregarded.
Employers will
always have to
follow the basic
procedures, but will
no longer be
penalised for
irrelevant mistakes
beyond that -
provided the
dismissal would
otherwise be fair.
This means that the
dismissal must have
been for a fair
reason and the
employer must have
acted reasonably in
treating it as a
reason for
dismissing the
employee.
- Provide for
timely and amicable
settlement through
fixed conciliation
and widening the
scope of compromise
agreements. This
change will ensure a
compromise agreement
does not have to be
limited only to
agreements about the
particular complaint
in dispute, but can
form a final
settlement for
related claims, and
will thus be
consistent with ACAS
conciliated
agreements.
- Provide for
efficient, swifter
delivery of tribunal
services through
practice directions,
management of weak
cases, revision of
the costs regime and
mandatory tribunal
forms.
In addition to
the legislative
measures contained
in the Bill, the
Government has set
up an Employment
Tribunal System
Taskforce to ensure
that the Employment
Tribunal system
reflects the needs
of its users and the
changing environment
in which it operates
(see Links for
further
information).
Flexibility and
Fairness
Measures in the
Bill will implement
the EU Directive on
fixed term work on
which the Government
consulted last year,
and will prevent pay
and pension
discrimination
against fixed term
workers. Although
the Directive itself
does not cover pay
and pensions, the
consultation showed
that there was pay
discrimination
against fixed term
employees that
justifies primary
legislation to
address it. The
Government published
draft regulations in
January 2002 for
comment. They are
due to take effect
by 10 July 2002.
- Right for
fixed term
employees to be
paid the same as
similar
permanent staff
working for the
same employer
will ensure
flexible work
pays.
- Employers
will need some
flexibility to
address
individual
circumstances
when applying
the equal
treatment
requirement to
fixed term
employees.
Different
treatment may be
justified on
objective
grounds or where
the fixed term
employee has an
overall package
equal to a
similar
permanent
employee.
Work focused
interviews for
partners of
working age
benefit
recipients.
The Bill
introduces
work-focused
interviews for
partners of
people receiving
working-age
benefits,
affecting around
half a million
partners with
and without
children. The
Government’s
strategy for
reforming the
system of
support for
working age
people is based
on the principle
of work for
those who can
and support for
those who
cannot.
- The key
aim of the
interview is
to encourage
partners of
working age
benefit
recipients (JSA(IB),
IS, IB, SDA
and ICA) to
see work as
a realistic
option; to
build upon
their skills
and
potential
and help the
individual
tackle any
obstacles to
work; and
inform them
of the
support on
offer to
find work
through, for
example, the
New Deals
available.
- No
obligation
to take up
help or to
find work.
Partners
will receive
individual
personalised
support and
advice
through
their own
personal
adviser to
find the
best way
into work
where that
is possible.
Time off for
Trade Union
learning
representatives.
The Bill
introduces a
new
statutory
right to
time off for
trade union
learning
representatives
(ULRs) to
ensure that
they are
adequately
trained to
carry out
their
duties.
- Paid
time off
rights
for ULRs
which
are
broadly
equivalent
to the
current
rights
enjoyed
by shop
stewards
and
other
lay
union
representatives.
- Both
employers
and
workers
stand to
benefit.
ULRs are
an
inexpensive
source
of
expert
advice
for
employers
and the
proposals
will not
place a
high
administrative
burden
on
employers.
-
Workforce
Development.
A key
element
of
Government’s
drive to
improve
the
quantity
and
quality
of
workforce
development,
particularly
for
those
who
generally
miss out
on
training
at
present
– eg.
older
men,
ethnic
minorities,
part
timers.
Equal
Pay
Questionnaire.
The
Bill
will
introduce
an equal
pay
questionnaire
in
employment
tribunal
equal
pay
cases.
-
Equal
pay
cases
are
notoriously
slow
and
complex.
A
questionnaire
will
make
it
easier
for
individuals
to
request
key
information
from
their
employer
when
they
are
deciding
whether
to
bring
a
case;
and
will
help
simplify
and
speed
up
the
tribunal
process
benefiting
both
employers
and
employees.
This
could
lead
to
settlement
or
resolution
in
some
cases.
-
It
is
estimated
that
the
introduction
of
the
questionnaire
procedure
will
result
in a
10%
reduction
in
applications,
ie.
a
reduction
of
240
applications
per
year.
Data
Sharing.
The
creation
of
the
Department
of
Work
and
Pensions
is a
key
development
in
the
Government’s
Welfare
to
Work
philosophy.
Data
sharing
provision
in
the
Bill
will
allow
the
new
Department
to
use
the
information
it
receives
across
the
range
of
its
functions.
- Data sharing of National Insurance contribution records will enable better evaluation of employment and training programmes. This will in turn allow the Government to plan and deliver more effective services.
- It would also enable the Government to investigate developing better payments systems; guard against the possibility of fraud and to tackle any fraud where it occurs.
Impact of the Bill on Small Businesses.
- The Bill thought “small first” in terms of the way it implements paid paternity and adoption leave. It will ease the cash flow, reducing the burden by allowing employers to claim money in advance for Statutory Maternity, Paternity and Adoption Pay payments and simplify procedures for small employers.
- Dispute resolution measures are helpful to small firms and will ease the pressures of tribunal claims by encouraging better communications in the workplace to prevent disputes escalating into tribunal applications. In most cases employees will be required to raise their grievances in the workplace before making an employment tribunal application. The introduction of dispute management procedures provides clarity on how workplace disputes should be handled. The procedures recognise the needs of small firms.
- Clear and user-friendly guidance available to all. ACAS advisory work with small business is being stepped up and ACAS, SBS and other advice agencies will work together to deliver support services.
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