Employment Law E-Bulletin

Feb 2007

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This month's cases in detail

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DISCIPLINE AND DISMISSAL PROCEDURE - GETTING IT RIGHT

The end of the year saw a whole flurry of cases to do with the statutory dismissal and disciplinary procedures (including some which are very favourable to employers!) so we thought that we could kick off 2007 with a review of the legal requirements along with summaries of these interesting cases.
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THIS MONTH'S IMPORTANT CASES

The relationship between the DDP and Internal Procedures

The case of Masterfoods Ltd v Wilson is a warning to all employers who operate contractual dismissal and disciplinary procedures over and above the statutory minimum.

Illegality as Reason for Dismissal

The case of London Borough of Hounslow v Klusova is a good example of one of the rare circumstances in which the DDP does not have to be followed.

Employees with less than 1 year’s service

In the case of Scott-Davies v Redgate Medical Services the EAT has confirmed that the DDP does not need to be followed in relation to employees with less than 1 year’s service. 

Step 1 letters

Two recent EAT decisions have helped to give much needed clarification of exactly what is required of employers to ensure that they have complied with the DDP.

Read this month's cases in detail

LEGISLATION UPDATE

Annual tribunal award limits increased

The Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2006 sets out the annual increase in limits to tribunal awards which will come into force for dismissals on or after 1 February 2007.

The most important increases are:

· The maximum compensatory award for unfair dismissal had been increased from £58,400 to £60,600

· The limit on a week’s pay (for basic awards, redundancy payments etc) has been increased from £290 per week to £310 per week

Collective Redundancy

Following an amendment to the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, when an employer is considering making more than 20 people redundant within a period of 90 days, notice must be given to the Department of Trade and Industry at least 30 days before notice to terminate an employee’s contract is issued rather than 30 days before the actual dismissal date.  This change brings UK legislation into line with a decision of the European Court of Justice last summer.

By analogy, the employer’s statutory consultation with representatives of the affected employees (which must similarly last at least 30 days) must be completed before notices of dismissal are issued.

Age Discrimination & Pensions

And finally, 1 December 2006 heralded the introduction of the final part of the Age Discrimination legislation when the long awaited pension provisions finally became law. The Employment Equality (Age) (Amendment No 2) Regulations 2006 outlaw unjustified age discrimination in the provision and administration of pensions. Given the age-related nature of pensions there are numerous exemptions but these rules are complex and extensive so those operating pensions schemes are urged to seek legal advice.

For further information on any the issues featured here or any other employment law issue, call Burnetts' on 01228 552222.

Feb 2007