Take time to read the following three employment related clauses contained in The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill recently published.
1 – Penalty notices
Under clause 136 respondents who fail to pay tribunal awards will find a ‘penalty notice’ landing on their desk. Issued by an enforcement officer, unless outstanding tribunal awards are paid within 28 days, respondents will be liable to pay the Secretary of State 50% of the outstanding amount, with a minimum payment of £100 and capped at £5000. For those respondents who pay the outstanding sum and penalty within 14 days the penalty is then reduced by 50%.
2 – Zero hours’ contracts
Clause 139 cracks down on employers who are abusing the use of zero hours contracts – but note – does not ban them in their entirety. No longer will employers be able to include an exclusivity clause in the contract restricting employees from working for another organisation. With the much publicised debate around zero hours contracts, employers will be watching carefully as further details are published so that amendments to zero hours and flexible working contracts can be made.
3 -Exit Payments
Clause 140-142 puts a stop to public sector employees benefiting from ‘exit’ payments and then being re-employed in the public sector. For those employees or who held office, the Treasury will require some or all of the termination payment to be paid back. The regulations may also mean that the amount to be repaid is calculated on a sliding scale according to the time that has elapsed between exiting and re-employment. In certain circumstances, the Secretary of State will be able to waive this requirement. Again we await secondary legislation to clarify these points.
