Autumn Statement 2011 (2) – Employment Law

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We are repeating this section which are all employment-law related, though, at the same time, payroll-related.  The Autumn Statement confirmed:

• Qualifying period for unfair dismissal to increase from one to two years from April 2012
• All potential claims to the Employment Appeals Tribunal will have to be lodged through ACAS first
• A Rapid Resolution scheme will be introduced to speed up straightforward Tribunal cases
• ‘Call for evidence’ confirmed on the effectiveness of the TUPE Regulations, with a view to formal consultation in 2012
• ‘Call for evidence’  on reducing the 90-day consultation criteria in redundancy situations
• Mr Justice Underhill will review the Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure whilst the Government will review the effectiveness of judges sitting independently in unfair dismissal cases
• The Government wants to explore the role of mediation in the dispute resolution process.  Large retail sector organisations will be asked to share their expertise with smaller counterparts
• Employment Tribunals are to be given powers to levy penalties on employers who are found to have breached employment rights
• A template compromise agreement wording will be established, which may be used by employers.  Further, these are to be renamed ‘settlement agreements’
• The concept of ‘protected conversations’ will be introduced which will allow employers to settle workplace issues with employees, subject to consultation
• ‘Calls for evidence’ on two proposals
  • ‘no-fault dismissals’ for micro employers with fewer than 10 employees
  • The move to an easier dismissal process
• Review of the Agency Workers Directive in 18 months, ensuring employers’ arrangements are kept as simple as possible
• A loophole in the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 will be closed to prevent workers whistleblowing about breaches in their own work contract
• The current 17 National Minimum Wage Regulations will be consolidated into one set, simplifying the current arrangements
• CRB checks to be universal with an immediate online checking service from 2013
• Government publication of a report looking at 16 EU Directives with a focus on reducing the burden for UK business.  One of these is the Working Time Directive

Further Information

• Payroll Help - Autumn Statement 2011 (1) – Pensions, Tax & NICs
• Payroll Help - Autumn Statement 2011 (3) – Independent Review of Sickness
• HM Treasury – Autumn Statement Speech
• HM Treasury - Autumn Statement Press Release
• HM Treasury  - Autumn Statement Documents

Tags: Appeals Tribunal, Autumn Statement 2011, Employment Law, Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, tupe

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 4th, 2011 at 09:00 and is filed under Autumn Statement. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.