Individual Rights and Employment Tribunals Individual Rights are dealt with under the civil law The level of proof is “on the balance of probabilities”. Historically the Master and Servant laws of the 19th Century are the source of employment rights, but after 1875 the access to law was limited and expensive for individuals. Employment protection laws began in the 1960s, were developed in the 1970s, and progressed to the level of highly emphasised individual rights in the 1990s. The EU (and its predecessor the EEC) has influenced UK Employment Laws through setting minimum standard directives e.g. working time directives and the European Convention on Human Rights.

Key changes to the EEC treaty which have influenced UK employment laws. Article 21 The EEC Treaty shall be supplemented by the following provisions: ‘Article 118a 1. Member States shall pay particular attention to encouraging improvements, especially in the working environment, as regards the health and safety of workers, and shall set as their objective the harmonization of conditions in this area, while maintaining the improvements made. 2. In order to help achieve the objective laid down in the first paragraph, the Council, acting by a qualified majority on a proposal from the Commission, in co-operation with the European Parliament and after consulting the Economic and Social Committee, shall adopt, by means of directives, minimum requirements for gradual implementation, having regard to the conditions and technical rules obtaining in each of the Member States. Such directives shall avoid imposing administrative, financial and legal constraints in a way which would hold back the creation and development of small and medium- sized undertakings. 3. The provisions adopted pursuant to this Article shall not prevent any Member State from maintaining or introducing more stringent measures for the protection of working conditions compatible with this Treaty.’.

Development of Employment Protection Laws (Collective Rights) Contracts of Employment Act 1963 Industrial Training Act 1964 Redundancy Payments Act 1965 Equal Pay Act 1970 Industrial Relations Act 1971 Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1974 Employment Protection Act 1975 Sex Discrimination Act 1975 Race Relations Act 1976 Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978 Employment Act 1988 Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act 1993

Activity 1- working in pairs Consider the amendment 118 a to Article 21 of EEC treaty and answer the following questions: 1) What is the focus of the amendment? 2) What is needed for a proposal to be adopted? 3) What are the implications of the amendment for UK employment laws?

Employment Protection Focus Shifts (Individual Rights) Influence of Hayek, (1960, 1974) and Rawls, (1990) Disability Discrimination Act 1995 Employment Rights Act 1996 Employment Rights (Disputes Resolution) Act 1998 National Minimum Wage Act 1998 Working Time Regulations 1998 Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 Data Protection Act 1998 Human Rights Act 1998 Employment Relations Act 1999

Individual Focus Part-time Workers Regulations 2000 Employment Acts 2002/04, including the Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations, 2004 Religion and Belief Regulations 2003 Sexual Orientation Regulations 2003 Age Regulations 2006 Employment Act 2008 Equality Act 2010

Activity 2- in pairs- Forthcoming legislation Do you know of any forthcoming legislation which is likely to affect employee rights in the UK? If so, give details and any likely impact?

Trends in Recent UK Employment Law Pluralist Influence of EU laws Bargained Corporatism of UK Government Four Pillars from Amsterdam Treaty (1997) – Employability, Entrepreneurship, Flexibility, and Diversity. UK Government emphasis on settlement of disputes within company, to reduce the number of claims (and costs) to the ET Service, via introduction of pre-claim settlements and mediation by ACAS Focus on dialogue between workers and their employees, including consultation and partnership working Increase in Trade Union Alliances/Internet use

Example of Partnership working-SBS Partnership Forum (1) Rationale The University's commitment to partnership working The existence of a successful University Information and Consultative Committee (ICE) at Faculty level The need for a forum to facilitate dialogue and information sharing between management and staff representatives to resolve problems and deal with future challenges.

Role of the Forum (2) To explore and consult with matters of common interest To listen to staff viewpoints on potential change To help solve problems in a timely fashion To identify wider consultation needs and mechanisms To share information and decision-making processes To identify action points in relation to be the above

Employment Tribunals Established in 1964 as Industrial Tribunals to deal with claims arising out of the Industrial Training Act 1964 Redundancy issues added in 1965 Unfair Dismissal Rights added by Industrial Relations Act 1971 Further boosts from Employment Protection Acts 1975 & 1978, Sex Discrimination Act 1975, Race Relations Act 1976, and Disability Discrimination Act 1995. Individual Rights are now primarily in the Employment Rights Act 1996, Discrimination legislation (e.g. Equality Act 2010).

Scope of the Employment Rights Act 1996 70 types of claim are dealt with by Employment Tribunals but the majority arise from the ERA 1996:- Unfair dismissal Redundancy Statement of Employment particulars Notice periods Maternity leave and pay Paternity leave and pay Parental leave Carer leave Protection of wages Equal pay

Claims to Tribunal Claims must be received within 3 months of the act being complained of- exceptions Redundancy, Dismissal through official industrial action, Equal pay claims, and preliminary complaints from the Discrimination commissions. Respondents (Employers) must respond within 28 days The majority of applications are for Unfair Dismissal and 75% of these are settled out of court or are withdraw prior to a tribunal hearing. 24 months service is required to qualify for unfair dismissal rights. Discrimination has no qualifying period.

Employment Tribunal Statistics Claims: 2001-02 - 112,227 2005-06 - 115,039 2009-10 - 236,000 2011-12 - 230,000 - down 6% Unfair Dismissal- 46.1K - down 7.1% Wages Act- 36.2 - down 5.3% Working Time- 23.6 - up 2.1% Breach of Contract-32.2K - up 1.2% Discrimination-17.2K - down 53.6% Redundancy-Pay- 13.2K - down 6.4% Equal Pay 23.8K - down 7.1%

Payment Requirements ET & EAT Fees Order 2013 As of 29th July 2013 claimants are required to pay a fee along with their application to the tribunal Type A wages act is £160 Type B Unfair dismissal, discrimination is £250 Also a fee is payable before the ET hearing Type A £230 and Type B is £950 Judicial Mediation is £600

Unfair Dismissal & Discrimination Cases (2011-12) The average award is £9133, Upper limit is £87,700* Average award Race Discrimination £102.2 K Average award Sex Discrimination £9.9K Average award Disability Discrimination £22.2K Average award Religious Discrimination £16.7K Average award Sexual Orientation £14.6K Average award Age Discrimination £19.3K

Jurisdiction and Format of Employment Tribunal Source is Employment Tribunals Act (1996) Employment Judge is a lawyer of 7 years experience 2 lay members from either side of industry Evidence on oath or affirmed. Level of Proof – "the balance of probabilities" Witness statements used in England & Wales Written documents as evidence in form of letters, warnings, contract of employment, discipline and grievance procedures, employee handbook, minutes of meetings, are presented in the bundle of documents. Representation and cross-examination

Activity 3- Individual and Collective Conflicts Identify the main areas covered in the article by Jeffies (2011) List key differences between the 5 European Countries Can you explain these differences from the article or other information you have about these countries? Referring back to Activity 2, do you think the UK bill is justified in relation to the situation in these 5 countries