The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has confirmed that the proposed increase in the qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims to two years is only to apply to those starting a new job on or after 6 April 2012. Employees whose employment started before 6 April will remain subject to the one-year qualifying period. The regulations to extend the qualifying period are due to be published shortly and will be subject to Parliamentary debate.

BIS also stated that it will not implement the revised EU Directive on Parental Leave in March 2012. Due to the ongoing work on the Modern Workplaces consultation, the Government will instead take advantage of the additional year’s grace allowed by Art. 2(3) of the Directive to implement the changes in March 2013. Consequently, the number of weeks of unpaid parental leave will increase to 18 per parent per child ahead of the other changes proposed in the consultation for 2015, which include a new flexible system of shared parental leave and an extension of the right to request flexible working.

Further details on the intended dates for a number of reforms announced last year as part of the Employment Law Review were given by the Employment Relations Minister Edward Davey in a written answer to Parliament on 17 January.

Subject to parliamentary approval, changes to be effected via secondary legislation – witness statements being taken as read, the removal of witness expenses, judges sitting alone in unfair dismissal cases and changes to limits for cost awards and deposit orders – will come into force on 6 April 2012.

Measures requiring primary legislation, including financial penalties for employers, early conciliation, judges sitting alone in the EAT as a default arrangement and an amended formula for uprating tribunal awards and redundancy payments, will be implemented when parliamentary time allows.

The revised procedural code for employment tribunals anticipated as a result of Mr Justice Underhill’s review of the Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure is expected to come into force in 2013, following public consultation and subject to parliamentary approval.

The Government Equalities Office has announced the creation of a new Equality Advisory and Support Service, intended to support vulnerable and disadvantaged individuals facing discrimination. The service will provide telephone advice and support, with an emphasis on encouraging problems to be resolved early and informally where possible. Those who need face-to-face help will be provided with lay independent advocacy support.
Where problems cannot be resolved informally or through alternative dispute resolution and the individual has no access to legal advice, the service will facilitate the issue of a claim.
The announcement comes following the Government’s decision to cease funding for the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) helpline and legal grants programme in 2012. Although the majority of respondents were against the establishment of the new service, the Government claims it will provide the same level of support on human rights as the current EHRC helpline.
The Government has also confirmed that legal aid will continue to be available for claims relating to breaches of the Equality Act 2010 after the legal aid reforms planned for April 2013. As part of those reforms, people applying for civil legal aid for discrimination claims will usually be expected to apply via a ‘mandatory telephone gateway’. The gateway call operator will then assess a caller’s specific needs on a case-by-case basis and will refer them to a face-to-face advice service if this is considered necessary.
The Government also intends to support the not-for-profit advice sector via its recently announced Advice Services Fund and will undertake a review of free advice services.

Months of speculation have been brought to an end today as Business Secretary Vince Cable has announced the government’s proposals for a radical overhaul of employment law. The government has also today published its Response to the Consultation on Resolving Workplace Disputes.

The main proposals are:-
• an increase in the unfair dismissal qualifying period to two years;
• compulsory lodging of all claims through ACAS, for an attempt at mediation, before they can be lodged with the tribunal;
• consultation on the introduction of protected conversations, with the caveat that they will not be capable of protecting discriminatory acts; and
• a call for evidence, with a view to consultation, on the benefits of reducing the minimum period for redundancy consultation to 60, 45 or 30 days.

Surprisingly there are more proposals for change afoot as well, which are:-
• options for a ‘rapid resolution scheme’, to enable simple claims to be settled within three months;
• an amendment to s147 of the Equality Act 2010, to clarify that compromise agreements can be used to settle discrimination claims;
• complaints about breaches of the employment contract to be taken out of the ambit of whistleblowing law;
• financial penalties, payable to the Exchequer, to be levied on employers who breach employment rights (subject to a discretion exercisable by Employment Judges);
• a fundamental review of employment tribunal rules of procedure, to be led by Underhill J (who steps down as President of the EAT at the end of next month), to include changes to costs and desposit orders;
• Employment Judges to sit alone in unfair dismissal cases rather than with 2 lay members as is currently the case;
• CRB checks to be made portable, to remove the need for a fresh application when moving jobs; and
• maternity and paternity leave to be modernised, with an emphasis on greater involvement for fathers.

What’s more is the government has said it is still looking at the option of compensated no-fault dismissals for micro-businesses (but it is not publishing any proposals at this time).

“Change? What do you mean, change?!”

There a lot of speculation at the moment about the impact on legal services of the advent of alternative business structures (ABS). Some commentators see this as a seismic shift – a change of epic proportions and significance. To me this seems to be nothing more than the latest instalment in the continuing process of evolution in legal practice.

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If you are keen to keep abreast of developments in UK employment law and HR practice, take a look at the Pharos Legal Beacon  – our monthly newsletter – please click here: Pharos Beacon August 2011

Modern Workplaces consultation

What we knew already: the Government wanted to introduce a new system of shared parental leave and was considering extending the right to request flexible working to almost all employees. The consultation on those changes has now been published.

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