E-NEWS: 26 January 2001

IN THE NEWS THIS WEEK:

* INCREASE IN TRIBUNAL AWARDS & REDUNDANCY PAY
* NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE
* HUGE INCREASE IN TRIBUNAL CLAIMS
* 'GROPING' BOSS MADE LEWD REMARKS

INCREASE IN TRIBUNAL AWARDS & REDUNDANCY PAY

Increases have been confirmed to the maximum compensatory award for unfair dismissal and to statutory redundancy pay, which will take effect from 1st February 2001, the most significant of which are:

* 'A maximum weeks pay' for calculation of the basic award in unfair dismissal cases and statutory redundancy pay increases from £230 to £240
* Maximum compensation for unfair dismissal increases from £50,000 to £51,700
* The limit on the amount of guarantee payment payable to an employee in respect of a workless day has increased from £16.10 to £16.70

See http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/stat.htm for details.

NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE

On 4th January 2001, new figures were published by the government showing that enforcement officers have recovered more than £3m for the low paid.

Between April 1999 and April 2000, government figures show that average earnings rose by:

* 4.7% in the north east of England to £365.80 per week;
* 4% in Wales to £368.10 per week;
* 3.8% in the south west of England to £379.10 per week;
* 3.7% in Yorkshire and the Humber region to £373.70 per week.

Latest figures show that:

* enforcement officers have won back £3.1m for low paid workers who were not being paid the minimum wage;

* the NMW helpline has taken over 225,000 calls since it opened;
* there have been over 6,000 complaints of underpayment and nearly
8,000 employers have been visited by enforcement officers;
* 290 enforcement notices have been issued;
* 42 penalty notices have been issued.

HUGE INCREASE IN TRIBUNAL CLAIMS

* Recent research has shown that the number of Employment Tribunal claims brought by employees has increased by over a third since 1997. The actual number of cases has increased from 86,812 in 1997 to 118,400 in 2000, an increase of 36%.

'GROPING' BOSS MADE LEWD REMARKS

An Employment Tribunal has heard a woman accuse her former boss of making lewd comments about the size of her breasts and her 'visible panty line', this week. The Company defended the claim on the basis that the comments were "office banter".

The Employment Tribunal decision is awaited, but this case follows a string of sex discrimination/harassment cases where financial awards to the employees' have been high.

This case highlights further the importance of employers considering the implementation of a harassment policy to deal with these kind of allegations at an early stage. In many cases this will prevent such action leading to an Employment Tribunal claim.

In the recent case of Driskel-v-Peninsula Business Services Limited & Others (2000), the Appeal Tribunal decided that office banter can be discriminatory, even if it is directed at both sexes. Here the Appeal Tribunal found that the banter was intimidatory, and therefore discriminatory against women.

It is important also to remember that sexual harassment is defined in the terms of 'unwanted conduct of a sexual nature, or other conduct based on sex affecting the dignity of women and men at work. This can include unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct'.

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This article copyright © 2001 Steeles Law. All rights reserved.