The Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) has published details of the policies that are to be set out in the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill.
Of particular note to ARC members are the following stated proposals:
• Reform Whistleblowing procedures to achieve a consistent standard of best practice for handling disclosures and provide greater reassurance to the whistle-blower that action is being taken by the prescribed person and as a result, increase the confidence in the actions of the prescribed person.
• Deter business non-payment of employment tribunal awards by creating strong financial consequences of non-payment.
• Reduce the delays in Employment Tribunals caused by frequent and short notice postponements, and addressing the costs arising from short notice postponements.
• Increase the penalties imposed on employers that underpay their workers in breach of the national minimum wage legislation on a per worker basis.
• Make exclusivity clauses in zero hours contracts invalid and unenforceable so that no one is tied into a contract without any guarantee of paid work. This will enable employers and employees to benefit from the flexibility of zero hours contracts whilst addressing abuse of these contracts.
• Recover exit payments from public sector employees that leave and re-join the same part of the public sector within a year.
More detailed factsheets on each policy are available on the .gov.uk website here.
