1. UNITE Legal Briefing Employment Law Reforms in 2013 6 March 2013 Rob Smith

2. Introduction Overview of the Government Employment Law Reforms: Employment Law Reform effective on the 6 th April 2012. The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill Proposed Employment Tribunal Reform Employment Tribunal fees Government Consultations – current state of play

3. ConDem Coalition Approach to Employment Rights in the Workplace Adrian Beecroft Proposal for compensated No Fault dismissal - Abandoned But see the governments proposal on giving up employment rights for shares in the business

4. Employment Law Reform – 6 th April 2012 Two year qualifying period Judges sitting alone Witness Statements taken as read Witness expenses Costs

5. Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill Repeals Important parts of the Equality Act 2010: Third party harassment Recommendations Equality Act Questionnaire procedure

6. Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill Pre-Termination Negotiations and Settlement Agreement Legal officers Capping of Unfair dismissal awards Financial penalties – er’s breach has aggravating features Indexation of awards – to nearest £1

7. Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill Compulsory conciliation for employment claims : Via ACAS - 3 step procedure Claimant to complete a form and send to ACAS, confirm whether interested in conciliation. ACAS then contacts employer 4 week period of conciliation. During which time is frozen At end of conciliation ACAS issue certificate Claimant can lodge claim Potential problems from additional process ACAS resources – likely to come in in August 2014

8. Tribunal Fees Level 1 claims (UDW RP) - £160 issue fee; £230 hearing fee Level 2 claims (Discrim etc) - £250 issue fee; £950 hearing fee Multiple claims - 2-10 (2 x single fee) - 11- 200 (4x single fee) - 200+ (6 x single fee)

9. Introduction of Tribunal Fees History of Tribunals Government believe ET claims increased and see it as part of compensation culture Open about justification Fees to be introduced from July 2013

10. Consultations Collective redundancies : Reduce the 90 day period to: – 30 day minimum period for up to 99 collective redundancies –45 day period for planned redundancies of 100 + Establishment Fixed term contracts Code of Practice

11. TUPE Government Response Accept limited because implements ARD Proposes further consultation on -Service Provision Change -Liability -Change of location

12. Trade Union Facility Time in the Civil Service Consultation on developing a system for reporting and monitoring facility time: Ending or limiting the practice of 100% facility time Unpaid facility time Reduction in overall facility time

13. Conclusion Change in the landscape of employment rights in the workplace. Going backwards Law is there as a last resort Onus on political, industrial and collective strategies

14. Further information www.thompsons.law.co.uk www.acas.org.uk Labour and Employment Law Review