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Number 7

16 March 2015

CONFERENCE CHAMBERS

NEWSLETTER

Tribunal Claims
In our first newsletter we
reported on the fall in tribunal
claims of around 79%. Since
then we have had the two
heavyweight legal battles
between UNISON v The Lord
Chancellor - see the latest
High Court judgment of 17
December 2014 citation
'[2014] EWHC 4198 (Admin)'

UNISON's Case
Unison's application for
judicial review challenged the
fee scheme on two grounds.
First, it alleged that the
scheme was unlawful because
it infringes the EU principle of
effectiveness. The cost was
said to be such that it is
virtually impossible or at least
exceptionally difficult for a
significant number of potential
applicants to afford to bring a
claim. Their employment rights
were rendered illusory.
Second, it was said that the fee
scheme operates in an
indirectly discriminatory way
with respect to women, ethnic
minorities and the disabled,
and that the Lord Chancellor
had failed to establish that the
disadvantageous treatment
meted out to these groups
was justified.

Welcome
Welcome to Conference
Chambers' newsletter. On 10
March 2015 Ryan presented a
workshop on contract law to
aspiring entrepreneurs in
Tottenham, North London.
The session was full of good
entrepreneurial ideas,
ambition and positivity, and we
wish all the attendees every
success as they embark on
their business journeys.

ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary & Grievance


Procedures (March 2015)
The ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary & Grievance
Procedures was updated this month. You are strongly advised
to familiarise yourself with the new Code. Those of you who
were/are versed in the 2009 version would note that the
update makes changes to paragraphs 14-16 and 36-38 only,
regarding allowing employees to be accompanied at
disciplinary and grievance meetings respectively. The Code
can be found at: http://www.acas.org.uk/?articleid=2174

Early Conciliation
ACAS has been very busy. As well as publishing the said
updated Code, it also published new statistics on its Early
Conciliation service that dealt with 60,855 cases between 6

2015 Conference Chambers & Ryan Clement

Number 7Statistics
Latest
Unison was unsuccessful but
leave has been granted to appeal
to the the Court of Appeal. It
would, therefore, be interesting
to know what each side makes of
the latest Tribunal quarterly
statistics for the period October
to December 2014 published on
12 March 2015 by The Ministry of
Justice (MoJ). Put simply, there
were 12% (4,836) fewer single
claims in the period compared
with that for 2013 (already
'reduced'). However, there was an
increase in multiple claim cases.

2.2 Average
Statistics can be interpreted in
many ways and, therefore, we
leave the interpretation of the
above to the respective parties to
decide which parts better
supports their case. However,
notably, on a different note,
which would be of no particular
interest to the parties, is what we
have termed the '2.2 average'. If
the trend were to continue,
employers are more likely to
receive an ET1 with at least two
jurisdictional complaints per
claim than just the one. For
example, to use that referred to in
the report, different jurisdictions
under Age Discrimination and
Equal Pay. Of course, an
employee summarily dismissed
for 'gross misconduct' (and
qualifies) is likely to present a
complaint to the tribunal for at
least unfair and wrongful
dismissals. The MoJ's Report can
be found at: https://www.gov.uk/
government/uploads/system/
uploads/attachment_data/file/
411604/Tribunal-GRC-statisticsquarterly-oct-dec-2014.pdf

16 March 2015

April to the end of December 2014. There has been much talk
about the eect of fees on the number of cases being
presented in the employment tribunal. Little has been said
about the 'Early Conciliation Eect'. The publication, which
was published on 4 March 2015, is worth a read and can be
found at: www.acas.org.uk/ECupdate.

NMW Regulations 2015


Be on notice that on 6 April 2015 the National Minimum
Wage Regulations 2015 come into force. The regulations
consist of 58 main paragraphs. We simply put those on notice
who advise on NMW and those who may need to seek advice
on any changes on this important part of the law. For those of
our readers who are in an advisory capacity the regulations are
at SI 2015/621.

Zero hours employment contracts


With a General Election soon upon us it remains to be seen
what the political mood is on the subject of zero hours
employment contracts after 7 May 2015. In March 2015 the
Department for Business Innovation & Skills published 'Zero
Hours Employment Contracts' - Government Response to
the 'Banning Exclusivity Clauses: Tackling Avoidance'
Consultation. The outcome is that the Small Business,
Enterprise and Employment Bill will (a) ban exclusivity terms
in zero hours contracts (b) allow for regulations to be created
to deal with employers who avoid the ban (c) provide routes
of compensation for employees who have been oered a
contract with an exclusivity clause. A close eye definitely
needs to be kept on any developments on which we shall
report as and when the occasion arises.

Employment Law Update


Ryan's Employment Law Update in the Solicitors Journal is
due for publication soon, so keep a look out!
Conference Chambers
Canada House
272 Field End Road
Middlesex HA4 9NA
Tel: 0208 582 0500 Fax: 0800 2425323
carole@conferencechambers.com
ryan@conferencechambers.com

2015 Conference Chambers & Ryan Clement

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