Employment Bill [HL]

My Lords, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 1. This is a consequential technical amendment to Clause 3. Clause 3 allows employment tribunals to increase or decrease an award by up to 25 per cent for unreasonable failure to comply with any relevant code of practice relating to workplace dispute resolution. Tribunals will be able to adjust awards under the jurisdictions set out in new Schedule A2. This schedule replicates the jurisdictions that are already listed in Schedule 3 to the Employment Act 2002. It covers the vast majority of the jurisdictions of claims accepted by employment tribunals. Following the Third Reading of the Bill in this House, the Cross-border Railway Services (Working Time) Regulations 2008 came into force on 27 July. These regulations transpose a European directive on working conditions for railway workers on cross-border railway services and replace conditions previously covered by the working time directive. Regulation 17 allows a worker to complain to an employment tribunal if his employer has refused to permit him to exercise rights under the regulations relating to rest or break periods. The regulations insert Regulation 17 into Schedule 3 to the Employment Act 2002 as a jurisdiction to which the adjustment of awards for non-completion of statutory procedure applies. Amendment No. 2 therefore makes a consequential amendment to add Regulation 17 to new Schedule A2 as a jurisdiction to which the new adjustment provisions will also apply after repeal of the existing provisions. Moved, That the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 1.—(Lord Brett.) On Question, Motion agreed to. 2: Insert the following new Clause— ““Employment agencies and national minimum wage legislation: information-sharing "(1) In the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 (c. 39), in section 15 (information obtained by officers), after subsection (5) there is inserted—""““(5A) Information to which this section applies—" (a) may be supplied by, or with the authorisation of, the Secretary of State to an officer acting for the purposes of the Employment Agencies Act 1973 for any purpose relating to that Act; and (b) may be used by an officer acting for the purposes of that Act for any purpose relating to that Act.”” "(2) In the Employment Agencies Act 1973 (c. 35), in section 9 (inspection), subsection (4) is amended as follows—" (a) after ““this section”” there is inserted ““(or pursuant to section 15(5A) of the National Minimum Wage Act 1998)””; (b) after paragraph (iv) there is inserted ““or (v) to an officer acting for the purposes of the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 for any purpose relating to that Act;””.””