A Year in employment

It’s been a while since our blogs have been done, in no small part due to maternity leave, so here is a brief summary of the main things that have come up over the last year.

January 2012

Up to £67 million awarded to ex Woolworths staff where administrators failed to comply with their duty to collectively consult. The Tribunal did however treat each Woolworths shop as a separate “establishment” meaning that employees in smaller shops missed out on compensation. Employers should be aware that consultation duties are due to change in 2013. Watch this space for our blog on this issue.

February 2012

Compensation limits rose to a maximum of £12,900 for a basic award and £72,300 for a compensatory award.

Think £85,200 is a lot to lose? The limits went up again in February 2013 and are now £13,500 for the basic award and £74,200 for the compensatory award.

If employers can’t afford to pay out £87k+ in damages they need to make sure that their policies and procedures are accurate and followed appropriately.

April 2012

Anyone employed from 6th April will now have to be employed for 2 years before they are able to bring a claim for ordinary unfair dismissal. Anyone employed before 6th April 2012 will continue to only require 1 year’s service.

Claims where the dismissal is on the grounds of discrimination will continue to have no minimum service required.

May 2012

The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill received its first reading in the House of Commons on 23rd May. The Bill proposed a number of procedural reforms, changes to compensation.

There have been a number of developments in relation to this so watch this space for more updates and blogs specifically relating to the Bill.

June 2012

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) published its report “A Perfect Partnership” which reported that disabled people were still put at a disadvantage in the workplace and that employers were confused by what disability means, who is disabled and what support disabled workers might need.

Recommendations within the report were that employers should try to anticipate what adjustments and support may be needed from the outset of employment by manager led discussions and issuing a questionnaire for new starters. I

t also recommended that flexible working should be offered as an option for disabled workers and applicants.

Any employer choosing to use a questionnaire should ensure that the questionnaire does not discriminate against the disabled employee or they may face a substantial claim in the Tribunal.

July 2012

Royal Mail worker Abdul Musa, who was supported by the EHRC, was awarded an undisclosed amount of compensation after successfully showing that he had been dismissed for blowing the whistle on racist behavior.

Employers must ensure that they investigate any complaints made by employees in a timely fashion and must ensure that their Equality policies are up to date and adhered to. The costs of not could be significant.

October 2012

Employers must automatically enroll certain workers into a pension scheme and must pay a minimum level of contributions.