Two year limit on unlawful deduction from wages
The Deduction from Wages (Limitation) Regulations 2014 will impose a two-year limitation on most unlawful deductions from wages claims presented on or after 1 July 2015. This is intended to prevent large back-dated claims for arrears of holiday pay following the EAT’s decision in the Bear Scotland Ltd and others v Fultoncase, and others.
Amended Tribunal Rules of Procedure
Amended Employment Tribunals Rules of Procedure have been published. The main changes are as follows:
- The combining of separate case management discussions and pre-hearing reviews into one preliminary hearing;
- Changes to the initial paper sift and strike out provisions which seek to ensure that weak cases that should not proceed are identified and dealt with more effectively;
- Written reasons and reviews (renamed “reconsiderations”) will be provided to parties on a proportionate basis;
- The provision of a clear legal structure for combining multiple cases to be headed up by a lead case mechanism;
- Removing the requirement for cost orders of over £20,000 to be referred to the county court for assessment;
- A greater degree of flexibility in the issuing of deposit orders, which will allow Employment Judges to make an order if a party wishes to pursue a specific allegation or argument withlittle reasonable prospect of success.
European Commission consultation on equality between men and women in the EU
The European Commission is carrying out a consultation on equality between women and men in the EUand would like to hear from all those with an interest in gender equality issues, violence against women and/or social issues. This is a public consultation which opened in April and will close on 21 July 2015.
The consultation will be used to collect the views of a broad section of the public in the context of the preparation of the Commission’s policy on equality between women and men after 2015.
The Queen’s Speech
The recent Queen’s Speech included a number of new measures that may be of significance to the University.
The government intends to put forward legislation to limit strike action in public services. The main elements of the bill will be:
- The introduction of a 50 per cent voting threshold for union ballots turnouts (and retaining the requirement for there to be a simple majority of votes in favour);
- The introduction of a requirement, in addition to that above, that 40 per cent of those entitled to vote must vote in favour of industrial action in certain essential public services (health, education, fire, transport);
- Tackling intimidation of non-striking workers during a strike;
- The introduction of a transparent opt-in process for the political fund element of trade unions subscriptions;
- Introduction of time limits on a mandate following a ballot for industrial action.
As the bill has not yet been taken through parliament, it is not yet known which (if any) of these elements will be applied to Higher Education Institutions.
Some other forthcoming measures outlined in the speech were:
- Ensuring that no one working 30 hours a week on minimum wage will pay income tax [personal tax allowance] and there will be no rises in income tax rates, VAT, or national insurance for the next five years [tax lock commitment – National Insurance Contributions Bill/ Finance Bill];
- Support working people by increasing the provision of free child care to 30 hours per week (for 38 weeks of the year) for three and four year olds by 2017 [Childcare Bill];
- Control immigration [Immigration Bill].
Case Law
Rubins v Latvia, European Court of Human Rights – A case demonstrating that a dismissal can be unfair if it is based on punishing an individual for exercising their right to freedom of speech in certain circumstances.
Chesterton Global Ltd. v Nurmohamed–A case highlighting that workers making a whistleblowing disclosure must have a reasonable belief that it is made in the public interest even if the matter affects a relatively small group of people.
Hartley & Ors v King Edward VI College – A case clarifying that deductions from pay for strike action should be based on the proportion of working days lost, not calendar days.
GMB Union v Henderson – A case clarifying that political beliefs can be classed as a protected belief under the Equality Act 2010.
Jinadu v Docklands Buses Ltd. – A case clarifying that it is not necessary, in certain circumstances, for employers to pause a disciplinary process against an employee to hear a grievance that said employee has raised.
HR Employment Law Update, July2015, v1.0 Page 1 of 2
University of Salford
Author: Nicola Kettley