New NMW and disciplinary procedures due April 2009
February 2009
The Employment Act 2008 received Royal Assent on 13 November 2008 and a number of provisions will come into force on 6 April 2009 including:
- Changes to enforcement of the National Minimum Wage, introducing a new penalty for employers who underpay their workers and a method of calculation arrears that takes into account the length of time they have been outstanding.
- Repeal of the statutory dismissal and disciplinary procedures, introducing discretion for the employment tribunals to increase or reduce awards by up to 25 per cent where either side unreasonable fails to comply with the new ACAS revised code of practice.The new revised code provides broad principles on discipline and grievance handling in the workplace and was one of a number of recommendations which came out of the Government review of workplace dispute resolution carried out in 2007.
Connie Cliff, a solicitor at Wragge & Co LLP is not convinced the transition will be plain sailing ‘How will the employment tribunal exercise its discretion in applying this increase or decrease? Also no doubt there will be difficulties arising during the transitional phase for dismissal procedures commencing/grievances arising before
6 April but not yet concluded.’
Discipline and Grievances at Work: the ACAS guide: www.acas.org.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=905&p=0
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