In this article...

• Private sector equal pay concerns?
• Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006
• Points based migration system
• Annual increases
• Extra funding for employment dispute resolution
• Transforming tribunals

Private sector equal pay concerns?

The Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) has published its annual survey of reward management, and has found that only half of the respondent organisations have carried out an equal pay review, or are planning to do so in the next 12 months. This could put private sector employers at risk of equal pay claims.

The raft of equal pay litigation in the public sector has been widely publicised, with thousands of claims being brought against local authorities and the NHS, resulting in councils having to find extra funding to meet the estimated £2.8 billion cost. This mass litigation has not yet been reflected in the private sector, but the CIPD survey suggests that there is a risk that it could do so, taking into account the apparent lack of certainty about pay equality.

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Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006

A reminder that the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 comes into force on 29 February 2008. The Act only applies to employees employed after 29 February 2008 and introduces a new civil penalty for those who employ illegal workers, of up to £10,000 per worker. Furthermore, knowingly employing illegal workers will be a criminal offence, punishable by an unlimited fine and / or up to twelve months in prison.

There will be a defence available if an employer can show that they have checked the relevant documents and did not know that an employee was not eligible to work in the UK.

For most employees, checking their British passport, without any endorsements or restrictions, will be sufficient to discharge the duty to ensure that employees have the right to work legally. The lists of acceptable documents are set out on the website of the Border & Immigration Agency. Checking documents from “list A” will provide employers with a permanent defence, and checking documents from “list B” will provide a defence if the documents are re-checked every 12 months.

However, there will be no defence if an employer checks documents, but knowingly employs an illegal worker.

The Home Office has produced useful guidance to help employers comply with the new rules.

Business Link have also produced a guide to the new rules.

Points based migration system

A new, Australian style, points based immigration system is being rolled out from March 2008.

		Tier 1 of the system, which caters for highly skilled migrants such as scientists and entrepreneurs, is being launched now;
		tier 2, targeting skilled workers with a job offer and tier 5, for youth mobility and temporary workers, will come on line in the third quarter of 2008; and
		tier 4, for students, will follow at the beginning of 2009.

Skilled migrant workers will need to provide a certificate of sponsorship from a licensed sponsor and sponsors will be expected to inform the Home Office if a sponsored worker fails to start work. Employers will similarly be expected to report any discontinuation of studies, or if the contract is terminated, or the migrant is leaving their employment, or is changing educational institution.

The detail of the new scheme is yet to be finalised, so it is important to keep checking the relevant section of the Border & Immigration Agency’s website.

Annual increases

The annual increases to compensation limits took effect in relation to dismissals on, or after, the 1st of this month. The maximum compensatory award for unfair dismissal is now £63,000 (up from £60,600) and the maximum limit on a week’s pay (for the purposes of calculating a statutory redundancy payments and unfair dismissal basic awards) is £330, which is an increase from £310.

For most cases, the changes will apply to dismissals where the effective date of termination is on or after 1st February 2008.

Extra funding for employment dispute resolution

The DBERR has announced that it will release £37 million of extra funding for ACAS, in order to encourage early resolution of employment disputes. The funding is intended to help ACAS bolster its helpline and conciliation services. The increased support for ACAS is being put in place to complement the new dispute resolution regime, which will be introduced when the Employment Bill 2007 is implemented next spring (please see January’s Employment Eye for details).

Transforming tribunals

The Ministry of Justice has launched a consultation, called ‘Transforming Tribunals’, which sets out how the government plans to implement part 1 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 and seeks views on the development of the tribunals system. In particular, the consultation document sets out that the review and updating of the tribunal system will take into account the Gibbons Review of the statutory dispute resolution procedures. In relation to employment tribunals, the Gibbons Review recommended that the tribunal process was simplified and streamlined, to make it easier and cheaper for users. This reflects the general simplification of the dispute resolution process recommended by the Gibbons Review and implemented in the draft Employment Bill 2007.

The consultation paper and questionnaire can be found here

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