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FMA News & Press Releases
It also proposes to introduce a fee for bringing an Employment Tribunal (thought to be £500), which would be refunded if the case was successful. A further consultation on this is planned for the spring.
The consultation proposes to increase the qualification periods for unfair dismissal from one to two years and also to introduce financial penalties for employers found to have breached rights.
It suggests a review of the formula for calculating Employment Tribunal awards and statutory redundancy payment limits.
February Legal Update
Published: 14th February 2011There has been a host of Government activity in recent weeks in both employment law and health and safety, including proposals to reform Employment Tribunals...
The confirmation of the end of the Default Retirement Age, and a major consultation on changes to the reporting of accidents at work. Sara Bean of Workplace Law reports
Consultation on workplace disputes launched
The Government has launched a consultation seeking views on workplace dispute resolution. It says it wants to "find ways to help businesses feel more confident about hiring people".
The proposals set out in the consultation include requiring all claims to be submitted to ACAS (the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) in the first instance, rather than the Tribunals Service. This would allow ACAS a specified period (up to one month) to offer pre-claim conciliation in all cases.
It also proposes to introduce a fee for bringing an Employment Tribunal (thought to be £500), which would be refunded if the case was successful. A further consultation on this is planned for the spring.
The consultation proposes to increase the qualification periods for unfair dismissal from one to two years and also to introduce financial penalties for employers found to have breached rights.
It suggests a review of the formula for calculating Employment Tribunal awards and statutory redundancy payment limits.
Alongside its consultation on workplace disputes, the Government has published an ‘Employer's Charter’, which, like the consultation, it says is designed to give businesses more confidence to take on workers.
The Employer’s Charter, published on the Business Link website, aims to “dismiss some of the myths about what employers can and can't do in managing their workforce”.
For example, it reminds businesses that they can ask an employee to take their annual leave at a time that suits their business and can ask an employee about their future career plans, including retirement.
Tribunal claims rose to 236,000 last year – a record figure and a rise of 56% on 2009.
End of Default Retirement Age confirmed
The Government has confirmed that it will remove the Default Retirement Age (DRA). It says that the move will benefit individuals and provide a boost to the UK economy.
Ministers have decided to proceed with their plan to phase out the DRA between 6 April and 1 October 2011. The Government’s written response to its recent consultation on the issue, and new ACAS guidance to help businesses adapt to the removal of the regulation, have also been published.
Currently the DRA enables employers to make staff retire at 65, regardless of their circumstances. Employers will no longer be able to dismiss staff just because they have reached 65.
Between 6 April 2011 and 1 October 2011, only those people who were informed before 6 April and who are due to retire before 1 October, can be retired using the DRA. After 1 October, employers will not be able to use the DRA to force staff to retire.
Consultation opens on RIDDOR change
The Health and Safety Executive has opened a three-month consultation on proposed changes to the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 1995.
Changes to RIDDOR were recommended in Lord Young’s report on health and safety published last year, which contained a proposal to increase the threshold for reporting workplace injuries to seven days.
Under current rules, when an employee is absent from work for more than three days following an incident, employers are required to report the injury to the relevant enforcing authority – either the HSE or the local council. The proposed amendment increases this 'over-three-day' period to over seven consecutive days.
The change would align the incident reporting threshold with that for obtaining a 'fit note' from a GP for sickness absence, and would ensure that someone who has suffered a reportable injury has had a professional medical assessment.
The consultation paper is available online at www.hse.gov.uk/consult/condocs/cd233.htm. The deadline for responses is 9 May 2011.
Consultants can now sign up to health and safety register
Health and safety consultants are being invited to sign up to a new independent register that is intended to become a new benchmark for standards in the profession.
The Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register (OSHCR) is being set up in response to recommendations in the Government-commissioned report by Lord Young on the UK health and safety system − Common Sense, Common Safety.
It aims to increase employers' confidence in accessing good quality, proportionate advice and also to address concerns that some employers – especially SMEs – can find it difficult to know how and where to get external health and safety advice.
The OSHCR has been established by a number of professional bodies representing general safety and occupational health consultants across the UK, with support from the HSE.
The register, which is voluntary, is open to individuals who provide commercial advice on general health and safety management issues and who have achieved at least one of the following:
- Chartered status with IOSH (Institution of Occupational Safety and Health); CIEH (Chartered Institute of Environmental Health); or REHIS (Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland) with health and safety qualifications.
- Fellow status with IIRSM (International Institute of Risk and Safety Management) with degree level qualifications.
- Member or Fellow status with BOHS (British Occupational Hygiene Society) Faculty of Occupational Hygiene.
- Registered Member or Fellow status with IEHF (Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors).
In addition, all consultants wishing to join the register will be asked to declare that they will:
- demonstrate adequate continuing professional development;
- abide by their professional body's code of conduct;
- provide sensible and proportionate advice; and
- have professional indemnity insurance or equivalent to cover the nature of their duties.
The application process will include a check of an individual's membership status with the relevant professional body.
Further information
All of these issues and more, including an essential update on environmental compliance, will be covered at the 12th Workplace Law Annual conference, held on 5-6 April. Click here for more details.
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