* Employment law reforms
Tony CooperAcas
Employment Law Reforms
• Employment Tribunal fees
•The Enterprise and Regulatory reform bill:
• Early conciliation• Settlement agreements• Changing the limit of the compensatory award in unfair dismissal claims
Employment Tribunal Fees
• How?
• Claim and fee remission application to central office, then out to region
• 2 points for payment for claimants:
- With claim - Ahead of hearing
Employment Tribunal Fees
• Level 1: small claims/short track• Claim fee £160 • Hearing fee £230
• Level 2: anything above that e.g. Unfair Dismissal, Unlawful Discrimination, Whistleblowing
• Claim fee £230 • Hearing fee £950
Employment Tribunal Fees
• When? • …July 2013?
Early Conciliation – Main features
• From April 2014 before lodging a claim to the Tribunal all claimants will need to notify Acas first
• Following notification to Acas, the claimant’s limitation period for pursuing their legal rights to tribunal (usually 3 months) is put on hold.
• This suspension (“Stop the clock”) for a calendar month allows conciliation to take place without the claimant needing to take any legal steps to protect their rights
Early Conciliation – Main features
• There are provisions for both early conclusion, and extension, of the limitation pause
• Engaging with the conciliation process is voluntary
• If conciliation is unsuccessful the claimant can proceed to lodge a Tribunal claim
• Conciliation can still take place after the limitation pause comes to an end but before a claim is submitted
• Conciliation available after submission of ET1 as now
Settlement Agreements
• Changes to unfair dismissal rules:• Offers to end employment relationship on agreed
terms confidential• Even where no current dispute• Or parties unaware of problem
• Statutory code of practice• Focus on inadmissibility of settlement agreement
offers and improper behaviour
Unfair Dismissal compensation
• Proposed cap to compensatory award
• Current compensation limit £74,200 retained
• Additional proposed limit = 12 months pay
• Introduced – Summer 2013?
• Increased discrimination claims?
* Any Questions…
Acas contact information
Acas helpline - 08457 47 47 47
Acas website - www.acas.org.uk/southwest *
Top Related