E-NEWS: 22 May 2002

Welcome to the latest edition of enews produced by Steele & Co. In this issue we report on:

* DATA PROTECTION CODE COMES UNDER STRONG CRITICISM
* FULL STEAM AHEAD WITH THE AGE DISCRIMINATION BILL 2002
* NEW REPORT ON EMPLOYMENT REGULATION
* EMPLOYMENT BILL UPDATE - CONTROVERSIAL COMPROMISE AGREEMENT CLAUSE DROPPED
* SUMMER 2002 SEMINARS

* DATA PROTECTION CODE COMES UNDER STRONG CRITICISM

The Employment Practices Data Protection Code issued by the Information Commissioner is currently being released in four parts. The first part on recruitment and selection was released in March (see our enews dated 22 March 2002) with the second dealing with employment records having been promised for 'after Easter'.

According to a report in the Financial Times, Part 1 has met with strong criticism from the Better Regulation Task Force (a part of the cabinet office), which has warned that employers risk breaking the law by monitoring staff because the Information Protection Commissioner is refusing to heed concerns that the proposed Data Protection Code of Practice is unworkable.

It appears that David Arculus, the Head of the Task Force, has written to the Commissioner criticising the length and complexity of the Code and suggesting that it fails to distinguish between what is necessary for legal compliance and what is just good practice.

The FT claims that the CBI has supported the criticism, suggesting that the draft Code is a 'gift to lawyers [that] will not help companies in any way, shape or form'. The Commissioner's office has suggested that it is not willing to give ground on the Code's fundamentals.

Oliver Brabbins, Employment Partner, comments "this echoes the widespread concern there is from many of our clients. The Data Protecton legislation continues to cause problems and will require close scrutiny in the coming months".

The first part of the Code is available from the Data Protection website at www.dataprotection.gov.uk.

* NEW REPORT ON EMPLOYMENT REGULATION

The Better Regulation Task Force remains active and is calling for reforms to the system of implementing employment legislation.

The Task Force has issued a report referring to the unreasonable demands the method of employment regulation imposes on small and medium size employers.

Its recommendations include:

- commencement dates for new legislation be grouped together, so that various Acts and Statutory Instruments take effect on the same date, rather than at scattered intervals during the year;
- further research on the effect of employment legislation: in particular, its indirect effects on unemployment rates and investment, and degrees of awareness amongst workers;
- 'stress tests' for new legislation to see which sectors of industry it might have the most effect on;
- a free interactive CD-ROM on employment rights, to be given to all employers;
- a free or subsidised ACAS mediation service for businesses with less than 50 employees.

A copy of the report can be obtained from the Cabinet Office website at www.cabinet-office.gov.uk.

* FULL STEAM AHEAD WITH THE AGE DISCRIMINATION BILL 2002

The Age Discrimination (No. 2) Bill 2002 has been introduced to the House of Commons.

It contains the following provisions (applying to both employees and contract workers):

making it unlawful to discriminate directly on grounds of age;
- making it unlawful to discriminate indirectly on grounds of age, unless objectively justified;
- making it an offence to specify an actual or preferred upper age limit in a job advertisement;
- making it unlawful to set a normal retirement age in contracts of employment, unless there is an objective justification (the example is given of a retirement age linked to an occupational pension scheme agreed between the parties)
- a defence where the age requirement is a genuine and determining occupational requirement
- imposing a duty on public authorities to promote age equality in employment practices;
- setting up an Age Equality Commission, to monitor implementation of the Act and work towards the elimination of age discrimination.

A reading of the Bill suggests it has been 'cut and pasted' from older discrimination legislation. For example:

- it refers throughout to 'industrial', rather than 'employment' tribunals;
- it does not contain any time limit for enforcement of rights (i.e. there is simply no reference to the normal 3-month time limit);
- however, it does use the more modern terminology for indirect discrimination, namely 'a provision, criterion or practice' rather than the older 'requirement or condition'.

We will endeavor to keep you updated via enews on developments in this area. These new rights will undoubtedly have enormous implications in the work place. They are not, however, to be implemented until December 2006.

EMPLOYMENT BILL UPDATE - CONTROVERSIAL COMPROMISE AGREEMENT CLAUSE DROPPED

The Government has decided to remove a controversial clause in the Employment Bill dealing with compromise agreements.

The clause, which was added to the Bill during its passage through Parliament, would have removed the requirement that compromise agreements must relate to 'particular proceedings'. The aim of the clause was to clarify the provisions and allow employees to compromise a whole range of possible claims in one document, as is frequently done in an ACAS-conciliated settlement (COT3).

Substantial concerns were raised during the committee stage of the Bill in the Lords about the operation of this clause. Some even suggested that it would allow an employer to compromise all possible future claims at the moment of recruitment, by including an appropriate clause in the contract of employment. In the light of this, even though the Government sticks by the view that the clause would not have had the results alleged, the relevant Minister, Lord Sainsbury, has announced that the clause will be dropped at the Bill's Report stage in order to prevent potential misuse.

SUMMER 2002 SEMINARS

A reminder that the Norwich and London Employment Teams will be holding a series of seminars during May, June and July and these are listed below. The theme of the seminars will be the group of workers (often termed Atypical e.g. agency temps, part-time workers, employees on fixed term contracts) who are often hard to define and who frequently present difficult employment law problems.

* Ipswich 23rd May Holiday Inn, Ipswich
* London 29th May EEF Broadway House, London
* Cambridge 20th June Holiday Inn, Cambridge
* Norwich 2nd July Park Farm Hotel, Norwich.

To book your place(s) or for further information please contact Julie Duncombe at lonemp@steeleslaw.co.uk.

WE CAN HELP YOU:

Please use the links on this page if you:

* Want to receive more information/advice on any of the matters in this edition (please give details of the matter you require advice on).

* Want advice on any employment matters

* The employment team also conducts practical in-house training and workshops for companies on a wide range of issues including:-

Managing sickness absence/stress in the workplace
Misconduct and the disciplinary procedure
Poor performance
Handling redundancy situations
Avoiding unlawful discrimination claims
Avoiding unfair dismissals
Employment law update and practical advice for line managers

* Our aim is to offer line managers practical training to ensure that costly mistakes are avoided. All of the training workshops are tailored to meet the exact requirements of each individual business.

* If you are interested in finding out more about such training please do not hesitate to give us a call.

Visit our web site http://www.steeleslaw.co.uk

See this and other articles from Steele & Co on the web at: hrmguide.co.uk

This bulletin is intended for general guidance only and should not be relied upon without detailed legal advice on your specific circumstances.

This article copyright © 2002 Steeles Law. All rights reserved.