Employment Act 2002 (Amendment of Schedules 3, 4 and 5) Order 2006

rose to move, That the draft order laid before the House on 23 November be approved [Second Report from the Statutory Instruments Committee]. The noble Lord said: My Lords, noble Lords will recall that the Government introduced, in the Employment Act 2002, a framework designed to improve the way in which disputes between individual employees and their employers are resolved. The intention of the framework is to encourage disputes to be resolved through a better dialogue between employers and employees. The Act provides that, in most cases, the parties should follow a three-step statutory procedure. First, the employer must set out the circumstances of the dismissal or disciplinary action, or the employee must set out the grievance, in writing. Secondly, both parties must meet to discuss the dismissal/disciplinary action or grievance. Thirdly, the employee may appeal against the employer’s decision if he or she is not content. If there is an appeal, certain steps must be followed. A failure to follow the three-step procedure may have consequences for the party at fault, should the employer’s action or employee’s grievance then be the subject of a formal complaint to an employment tribunal. Where employers fail to follow the statutory procedures, a tribunal may increase the amount of any award to the employee. Any award may also be increased where it becomes evident, during the course of such proceedings, that employers have either failed to provide a written statement of particulars of employment or where it is incomplete or inaccurate. Failure by an employee to observe the procedures could result in the tribunal not hearing the complaint. In addition, in cases where the complaint is heard and the employee is successful, the resultant award may be decreased. It is also important to note that the statutory procedures do not apply to all jurisdictions automatically. The statutory procedures and the requirement for the tribunal to consider the claimant’s written statement will apply only to any complaint under the jurisdictions listed in Schedules 3 to 5 of the Act. The order seeks to add three recently created jurisdictions to Schedules 3 to 5. Each jurisdiction is similar in nature and I therefore propose to highlight their broad similarities rather than discuss them separately. Under each jurisdiction, there is a requirement for the employer to consult, or in some circumstances to negotiate, with employees or their representatives. Each jurisdiction contains provisions protecting employees or representatives from detrimental treatment by their employer when exercising their bargaining or consultation rights. At present, the jurisdictions listed in the draft order are not subject to the statutory grievance procedures or the written statement penalty provisions because they are not included within Schedules 3 to 5 of the Act. Article 2 of the order will rectify that by listing those parts of the regulations that provide protection against detriment within Schedules 3 to 5 of the Act. This approach is consistent with the treatmentof similar jurisdictions; for example, they already provide that employee representatives of a European co-operative society, who have suffered detriment, should follow the statutory grievance procedure. We propose that this order will come into force on 6 April 2007. The Government are making the amendment now—more than four months in advance of that date—to ensure that businesses and employees have plenty of notice of the change. The DTI carried out a three-month consultation about the draft regulations between May and August this year. There were 12 responses, including representations from the CBI and TUC. A clear majority of respondents agreed with our proposals. They noted that this was a minor change that would not be burdensome. The order will ensure that the three jurisdictions willbe treated in a consistent manner with similar jurisdictions. The amendment will therefore make things simpler for employers and employees alike. I beg to move. Moved, That the draft order laid before the House on 23 November be approved [Second Report from the Statutory Instruments Committee].—(Lord Truscott.)