The House of Commons has published an amendment paper to the Employment Rights Bill, which includes a new provision extending the time limit for filing a claim with a tribunal from three months up to six.
The bill was not included in its original draft, but it did appear in Labour’s pre election greenpaper on worker’s rights in New Deal for Working People.
The bill will soon be sent to committee, where the MPs will consider any proposed amendments. The majority of the amendments in this document were proposed by Justin Madders (Minister of Employment Rights), although other MPs also made some suggestions. The 53-page document contains amendments.
The Amendment Paper outlines an “initial employment period” in order to establish a right of unfair dismissal on the first day of employment. This was a concern raised by many employers when the bill’s original publication took place. This amendment suggests that the initial period of employment should be between 3 and 9 months.
The proposed rules for workers’ entitlements and guaranteed hours have been amended slightly to address the issue of shifting or reducing shifts.
The MPs also proposed a number other changes. One of these was a clause which renders void nondisclosure agreements, which prevent workers from disclosing sexual harassment or any other form of harassment. (Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament Layla Moran).
Nick Timothy, Conservative MP, proposed a clause that prohibits the use of substitute clauses between an employer, contractor or worker and a dependent contractor.
The document will now be sent to the Committee for discussion. Although some amendments may be withdrawn, those from the Government are most likely to pass.
Darren Newman, an employment lawyer, said in his A range of Reasonable Reactions that he believed the change to the time limit would be welcome: “The truth is that a time limit of three months for what could be a legal claim which is significant is absurdly low. In the 1970s, many employment rights were implemented and it was expected that cases would be heard in a matter of weeks. “But with many claimants having to wait more than a whole year for a hearing, it is difficult to justify the requirement to submit a claim within three months.”
Kayleigh Williams is an associate with Lewis Silkin’s employment, immigration, and reward team. She said that there could be a unintended consequence. “Although there is the chance that this change may be welcomed in certain cases, such as where a grievance, or certain negotiations, have not been concluded before a claim must be filed, in the end, extending time limits to bring a complaint to the tribunal could lead to increased uncertainty, and an overall increase in claims.”
This increase in claims is bound to place further strain on a tribunal system that already struggles (unless additional funding/resources are made available), causing delays. Although we do not know when the new deadlines will be implemented, employers should prepare for this by reviewing any data retention policies that are based on three-month time limits.
Many employment organisations welcomed the first draft of the bill in October when it was released, but others criticized it for being rushed through within the 100 days following the Labour government.
The Federation of Small Businesses described it as “clumsy and chaotic”, while the British Chambers of Commerce stated that many employers believed the reforms to be “rushed at breakneck pace”.
Earlier this year, the Regulatory Committee warned the government that its impact assessment of the reforms ‘was not fit for purpose’ and that they had underestimated their impact on wages and employment.
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