A
BILL
TO
Make provision in relation to the reserve forces of the Crown; to provide that
certain offences committed towards members of the armed forces and their
families shall be treated as aggravated; to prohibit discrimination against
members of the armed forces and their families in terms of provision of goods,
services and employment; and for connected purposes.
Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and
consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present
Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
In section 146 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (increase in sentences for
aggravation related to disability, sexual orientation or transgender identity)—
(a) in the title of the section, add at the end “or status as a service person”;
(b) 5after subsection (2)(a)(iii) insert—
“(iv)
the victim being (or being presumed to be) a service
person, or”;
(c) after subsection (2)(b)(iii) insert “, or
(iv) by hostility towards service people.”; and
(d) 10after subsection (6) insert—
“(7)
In this section “service people” has the meaning given in section
343B of the Armed Forces Act 2006, except that “relevant family
members” shall mean any relative.”.
(1) 15The Equality Act 2010 is amended as follows.
(2)
At the end of section 4 are added the words “status as a service person within
the meaning set out in section 343B of the Armed Forces Act 2006, except that
“relevant family members” shall mean any relative.”.
BillPage 2
(1) The Employment Rights Act 1996 is amended as follows.
(2) After section 63C insert—
(1)
5An employee who is a member of a reserve force (as defined in section
374 of the Armed Forces Act 2006) is entitled to be permitted by his
employer to take time off during the employee’s working hours in
order to undertake training activities connected to the reserve force.
(2)
An employee‘s entitlement to time off under subsection (1) is limited to
10a maximum of 14 days.
(3)
An employee is not entitled to be paid remuneration by his employer
for time off under subsection (1).
(4)
This section does not apply to employees of companies with fewer than
50 employees.
(1)
An employee may present a complaint to an employment tribunal that
his employer has unreasonably refused to permit him to take time off
as required by section 63CA.
(2)
20An employment tribunal shall not consider a complaint under this
section unless it is presented—
(a)
before the end of the period of three months beginning with the
day on which the time off was taken or on which it is alleged the
time off should have been permitted, or
(b)
25within such further period as the tribunal considers reasonable
in a case where it is satisfied that it was not reasonably
practicable for the complaint to be presented before the end of
that period of three months.
(3)
Where an employment tribunal finds a complaint under this section
30well founded, the tribunal shall make a declaration to that effect.”
(1)
This Act may be cited as the Armed Forces (Prevention of Discrimination) Act
2014.
(2)
This Act comes into force at the expiration of two months beginning with the
35date of Royal Assent.