Disability Discrimination Laws now in place

In this edition of e-news we concentrate on some of the new legislation that comes into force on Friday, 1st October 2004.

Oliver Brabbins, head of steeles' Employment Department comments: "The new legislation represents the biggest change in employment law in recent years. It is vital that employers are aware of these changes and review and update their procedures to ensure compliance."

Incorporating the New Dismissal and Grievance Procedures

From 1 October 2004 it becomes mandatory, regardless of the number of people employed by a company, for all employers to follow minimum statutory disciplinary and grievance procedures.

The Employment Act 2002 (Dispute Resolution) Regulations 2004 ("the Regulations") introduce from 1 October 2004 the new minimum statutory procedures for ALL disciplinary, dismissal and grievance hearings as laid out in the Employment Act 2002 ("the Act").

The Employment Rights Act 1996 introduced minimum statutory procedures which had only applied to companies with 20-plus staff. This restriction has now been removed and employers of all sizes must now ensure that both their contracts of employment and disciplinary and grievance policies meet the requisite standard. Failure to comply with the statutory minimum guidelines will result in a dismissal being classed as automatically unfair.

Both ACAS and the DTI have published useful guidance notes and codes of practice that make clear what steps must be taken to satisfy the new Regulations.

Important Changes to the Disability Discrimination Act 1995

Important changes are also being introduced to the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 by the 2003 Amendment Regulations SI 2003/1673.

From 1 October 2004, for the first time the DDA will cover small employers - those with fewer than 15 staff and will extend the scope to previously excluded sectors such as partners in firms. ALL employers will have to ensure that they do not discriminate against disabled employees or job applicants because of their disability. In addition, service providers will have to consider making changes to the physical features which make it unreasonably difficult for disabled people to use their services.

The amendments to the DDA 1995 also include an express prohibition of harassment on the grounds of disability.

The Act also removes the employer's defence of justification for failure to make reasonable adjustments. The question will simply be whether the making of the adjustments is reasonable.

The Disability Discrimination (Questions and Replies) Order 2004 SI 2004/1168 also updates the prescribed form of questionnaire that can be used by a person who believes that he or she may have been discriminated against. The Order also extends the time period during which the questionnaire must be served.

New Codes of Practice on Employment and Occupation, Trade Organisations and Qualification Bodies, issued by the Disability Rights Commission under s53A of the DDA 1995 have also been issued. The Code gives practical guidance on avoiding discrimination.

A draft Discrimination Bill is also in the pipeline and is set to bring further changes in the near future.

Rights of companions extended; further protection for workers in relation to trade union membership.

From 1/10/2004 some of the newly passed Employment Relations Act 2004 will come into force.

Section 37 of the new Act (replacing s10 of the Employment Relations Act 1999) extends the role of a representative at a disciplinary / grievance hearing, which was previously limited to addressing the meeting and conferring with the worker. The representatives will now have the additional right to sum up and respond on the worker's behalf to any view expressed at the hearing.

A worker now has the right not to be offered an inducement by his/her employer to stop him/her becoming a member of a trade union (s29 of the new Act). The Act also extends the protection given to workers against being subjected to a detriment on trade union grounds (s32 of the new Act).

National Minimum Wage increases

The main (adult) rate for workers over 22 increases to £4.85 per hour. The 'development rate' (for workers aged 18-21 inclusive) increases to £4.10 per hour.

There is also a new rate for 16 and 17 year olds (above compulsory school leaving age) of £3.00 per hour. This new rate does not apply to 16 and 17 year old apprentices.

New Tribunal Rules of Procedure

Although these changes are of more interest to lawyers than employers, all employers should be aware of some of the changes, namely:

Employers will now have 28 days from the date the Tribunal sends details of the claim to respond. Previously, they had 21 days from the date they received the application;

An originating application will now be known as a "claim form" or ET1 and the notice of appearance as "response form" or ET3;

ACAS will only be able to help parties settle the case within strict a strict timetable depending on the type of claim (13 weeks from start of claim in most cases or 7 weeks in some cases such as unlawful deduction from wages and statutory redundancy pay). No hearing can take place during this period, known as the "conciliation period";

The Register will no longer contain names and addresses of the parties. This was to prevent employees being blacklisted and employers being chased by representatives.

If you would like more information on the impact of the these changes or would like us to review your existing policies and procedures please feel free to contact us here at lonemp@steeleslaw.co.uk or by speaking to a member of the employment team here at steeles on 0207 421 1720.

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 © 2004 Steeles Law. All rights reserved.