Employment Act 2002

Product Information

The dispute resolution sections of the Act are expected to be implemented in late 2003. Equal treatment of fixed-term employees A range of improvements to employees’ existing parental leave rights ( UK9912144F) will take effect from April 2003. These include: The paternity leave provisions will allow fathers to take up to 2 weeks’ paid paternity leave. It must be taken within a period of 56 days beginning with the date of the birth or the child being placed for adoption. Paternity and adoption leave will only be available to employees, who have continuous service with the same employer for at least 26 weeks by the 15th week before the child is expected to be born, or, by the week in which an agreed match for adoption is made. The wording of the draft Regulations is such that the parental and adoption leave provisions will extend to co-habiting and same sex partners. a meeting between the employer and the employee to discuss the matter, at which the employee has the right to be accompanied ( UK0010195F), and after which the employee must be informed of the employer’s decision; and The Act introduces a new statutory right to paid time off work for trade union 'learning representatives', where the union is recognised by the employer, to carry out a range of duties, including advising union members about learning or training matters. ACAS is currently consulting on revisions to its code of practice on time off for union duties to take account of the new rights. This aspect of the Act is not expected to take effect before 2003. A future EIRO feature will examine the significance of the new rights for union learning representatives in more detail. Equal pay questionnaires

Employers must then arrange a meeting within 4 weeks of the request to consider and discuss the request with the employee. Every employer must write to the employee within 2 weeks of that meeting with a decision, giving reasons if the application is objected. The employee can appeal within 2 weeks of the employer’s decision and the appeal must be heard within 2 weeks. This new right to request flexible working is likely to be a matter which becomes more prominent and employers will need to start planning now as to how they will deal with such requests. In addition to the legislative measures contained in the Act, the government set up an Employment Tribunal System Taskforce to look at ways of making the tribunal system more efficient and cost effective ( UK0111105N). This issued its report in July 2002. Its main recommendations include the establishment of a high-level coordinating body to ensure greater coherence within the employment tribunal system and the promotion of best practice, and a greater emphasis on the prevention of disputes. Ministers have said that they will respond to the Taskforce’s recommendations in the autumn. Workplace dispute resolution The Employment Act, which has only recently been enacted, provides new rights for fathers to take paternity leave and, for couples adopting a child, the right for one of the couple to take adoption leave. The Act also provides for new rules on maternity leave and pay. Having completed its passage through Parliament, the Employment Bill ( UK0112104N) received royal assent on 8 July 2002. The Employment Act 2002 is a major piece of legislation. Its key themes are the enhancement of statutory rights designed to help parents balance work and family commitments, and the reform of employment tribunal procedures and workplace dispute resolution mechanisms in response to the rising number and cost of employment tribunal claims in recent years ( UK0108142N). It also includes provisions on a range of other issues, including equal treatment for fixed-term employees and time off for trade union learning representatives. The Act, and several sets of associated regulations, will be implemented in a number of phases over the coming year.

Commentary

the use of successive fixed-term contracts will be limited to four years, unless the use of further fixed-term contracts is justified on objective grounds. Paternity leave is when a male counterpart is able to have time off to spend with the child and the mother while receiving paid leave.

The Government estimates that 3.8 million mothers and fathers will be eligible to make these requests. There is a target consent rate of 82%. The Government have said that if the target is not met, the policy will be considered and a review is promised in any event after 3 years. The Act also gives parents of children under six years of age (or disabled children up to the age of 18) the right to request flexible working patterns for childcare purposes, and places a duty on employers to give proper consideration to the request ( UK0112105N). The aim is to facilitate dialogue between working parents and their employers about working patterns that meet parents’ childcare responsibilities as well as employers’ business needs. Such a request may involve: The Act sets out a statutory dismissal and disciplinary procedure and a statutory grievance procedure, each involving three stages. The standard dismissal and disciplinary procedure involves:

Advanced Features

the introduction of a new right to two weeks’ paternity leave paid at the same standard rate as SMP. This is in addition to the existing right to 13 weeks’ parental leave; The right will be available to all employees, who are parents or have responsibility for a child aged under 6, or disabled children aged under 18, and who have 26 weeks’ continuous service with the same employer. Draft Regulations state that the right will extend to those who are guardians or foster carers, or their spouse or partner. The request must be within 14 days of the 6th or 18th birthday. The Act also provides the basis for amending employment tribunal rules to introduce a fixed period for conciliation by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS), and to enable a tougher approach to the handling of weak cases. The Employment Act, which reached the UK statute book in July 2002, introduces new provisions concerning 'family-friendly' working, the resolution of individual disputes at the workplace, equal treatment for fixed-term employees and other matters. This feature summarises its main requirements and the timetable for their implementation, and looks at employer and trade union views of the new legislation.

an increase in the period of maternity leave to six months’ paid maternity leave followed by up to six months’ unpaid leave;The change may be to the hours or time when the employee is required to work, the place of work or any other aspect of the employment terms that are to be set out in Regulations. The formal request must: be in writing; set out the working pattern; specify the date from which it is to become effective; and set out what effect it may have on the employer and how it could be dealt with. Employees are only allowed one request every 12 months. award costs against a party’s representative for conducting the proceedings unreasonably (though ministers have made it clear that this will not apply in the case of representatives of 'not-for-profit' organisations, eg trade union officers); and Employers may refuse to grant requests for flexible working for objective business reasons. These may be because the working arrangement requested would add unreasonable costs to the business or it might have a detrimental impact on quality, performance or the ability to meet customer demand. Any refusal would need to be objectively justified and properly explained to the employees. The Act introduces a number of changes to employment tribunal procedure. Among other things, it enables the secretary to state to make regulations authorising tribunals to: The Employment Act 2002 ( c 22) is a UK Act of Parliament, which made a series of amendments to existing UK labour law.