S.103 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 set out the implementation dates for some of the Act’s employment measures to come into force on 25 April and 25 June 2013. The BIS have now published an indicative timetable which sets out the provisional implementation dates for most of the other employment provisions, i.e.
‘Summer’ 2013: (i) S.14 – Allows for confidentiality of negotiations before termination of employment (see above); (ii) S.19 – Introduces personal liability of employees who victimise whistleblowers, as well as vicarious liability for their employers; and (iii) S.23 – Renaming ‘compromise agreements’ as ‘settlement agreements’.
1 October 2013: S.65 – Removal of the third-party harassment provisions from the Equality Act 2010.
6 April 2014: (i) Ss. 7-9 and Schedules 1 and 2 – Mandatory pre-claim Acas conciliation, i.e. other than in specified circumstances, a prospective claimant must first have submitted the details of their claim to ACAS for conciliation before they can lodge the claim at an employment tribunal and only then, with a tribunal, after an Acas officer has issued a certificate that settlement is not possible; and (ii) S.66 – Repeal of the discrimination questionnaires provisions in the Equality Act 2010.
However, no start date has been determined for S.16 – the power for an employment tribunal to impose a financial penalty on employers where the employer has breached any of the worker’s rights and S.11 – the introduction of legal officers to decide certain proceedings, (as yet to be defined), with all of the parties' written consent.
This provides summary information and comment on the subject areas covered. Where employment tribunal and appellate court cases are reported, the information does not set out all of the facts, the legal arguments presented and the judgments made in every aspect of the case. Employment law is subject to constant change either by statute or by interpretation by the courts. While every care has been taken in compiling this information, we cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. Specialist legal advice must be taken on any legal issues that may arise before embarking upon any formal course of action.
