Employment Relations Bill

Employment Relations Bill - continued	House of Commons

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Miscellaneous

Partnerships at work.

27 - (1) The Secretary of State may spend money or provide money to other persons for the purpose of encouraging and helping employers (or their representatives) and employees (or their representatives) to improve the way they work together.

(2) Money may be provided in such way as the Secretary of State thinks fit (whether as grants or otherwise) and on such terms as he thinks fit (whether as to repayment or otherwise).

Employment agencies.

28. - (1) The Employment Agencies Act 1973 shall be amended as follows.

(2) In section 5(1) (power to make general regulations) there shall be substituted for paragraphs (f) and (g) and the proviso following paragraph (g)-

	"(ea) restricting the services which may be provided by persons carrying on such agencies and businesses;
	(eb) regulating the way in which and the terms on which services may be provided by persons carrying on such agencies and businesses;
	(ec) restricting or regulating the charging of fees by persons carrying on such agencies and businesses."

(3) After section 5(1) there shall be inserted-

	"(1A) The reference in subsection (1)(eb) of this section to services includes a reference to services in respect of-
	(a) persons seeking employment outside the United Kingdom;
	(b) persons normally resident outside the United Kingdom seeking employment in the United Kingdom."

(4) For section 6(1) (restriction on demand or receipt of fee for finding or seeking to find employment) there shall be substituted-

	"(1) Except in such cases or classes of case as the Secretary of State may prescribe-
	(a) a person carrying on an employment agency shall not request or directly or indirectly receive any fee from any person for providing services (whether by the provision of information or otherwise) for the purpose of finding him employment or seeking to find him employment;
	(b) a person carrying on an employment business shall not request or directly or indirectly receive any fee from an employee for providing services (whether by the provision of information or otherwise) for the purpose of finding or seeking to find another person, with a view to the employee acting for and under the control of that other person;
	(c) a person carrying on an employment business shall not request or directly or indirectly receive any fee from a second person for providing services (whether by the provision of information or otherwise) for the purpose of finding or seeking to find a third person, with a view to the second person becoming employed by the first person and acting for and under the control of the third person."

(5) In section 9(4)(a) (restriction on disclosure of information) in paragraph (iv) (exception for criminal proceedings pursuant to or arising out of the Act) the words "pursuant to or arising out of this Act" shall be omitted.

(6) After section 11 there shall be inserted-

"Offences: extension of time limit.	11A. - (1) For the purposes of subsection (2) of this section a relevant offence is an offence under section 3B, 5(2), 6(2), 9(4)(b) or 10(2) of this Act for which proceedings are instituted by the Secretary of State.
	(2) Notwithstanding section 127(1) of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 (information to be laid within 6 months of offence) an information relating to a relevant offence which is triable by a magistrates' court in England and Wales may be so tried if it is laid at any time-
	(a) within 3 years after the date of the commission of the offence, and
	(b) within 6 months after the date on which evidence sufficient in the opinion of the Secretary of State to justify the proceedings came to his knowledge.
	(3) Notwithstanding section 136 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (time limit for prosecuting certain statutory offences), in Scotland proceedings in respect of an offence under section 3B, 5(2), 6(2), 9(4)(b) or 10(2) of this Act may be commenced at any time-
	(a) within 3 years after the date of the commission of the offence, and
	(b) within 6 months after the date on which evidence sufficient in the opinion of the Lord Advocate to justify the proceedings came to his knowledge.
	(4) For the purposes of this section a certificate of the Secretary of State or Lord Advocate (as the case may be) as to the date on which evidence came to his knowledge is conclusive evidence."

(7) In section 13(2) (definition of employment agency) for "workers" (in each place) there shall be substituted "persons".

Unfair dismissal: special and additional awards.

29. - (1) The following provisions (which require, or relate to, the making of special awards by employment tribunals in unfair dismissal cases) shall cease to have effect-

(a) sections 117(4)(b), 118(2) and (3) and 125 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (and the word "or" before section 117(4)(b));

(b) sections 157 and 158 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

(2) In section 117(3)(b) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (amount of additional award) for "the appropriate amount" there shall be substituted "an amount not less than twenty-six nor more than fifty-two weeks' pay"; and subsections (5) and (6) of section 117 shall cease to have effect.

Indexation of amounts, &c.

30. - (1) This section applies to the sums specified in the following provisions-

(a) section 31(1) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (guarantee payments: limits);

(b) section 120(1) of that Act (unfair dismissal: minimum amount of basic award);

(d) section 186(1)(a) and (b) of that Act (employee's rights on insolvency of employer: maximum amount payable);

(e) section 227(1) of that Act (maximum amount of a week's pay for purposes of certain calculations);

(f) section 156(1) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (unfair dismissal: minimum basic award);

(g) section 176(6) of that Act (right to membership of trade union: remedies).

(2) If the retail prices index for September of a year is higher or lower than the index for the previous September, the Secretary of State shall as soon as practicable make an order in relation to each sum mentioned in subsection (1)-

(a) increasing each sum, if the new index is higher, or

(b) decreasing each sum, if the new index is lower,

by the same percentage as the amount of the increase or decrease of the index.

(3) In making the calculation required by subsection (2) the Secretary of State shall-

(a) in the case of the sum mentioned in subsection (1)(a), round the result up to the nearest 10 pence,

(b) in the case of the sums mentioned in subsection (1)(b), (c), (f) and (g), round the result up to the nearest £100, and

(4) For the sum specified in section 124(1) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (unfair dismissal: limit of compensatory award) there shall be substituted the sum of £50,000 (subject to subsection (2) above).

(5) In this section "the retail prices index" means-

(a) the general index of retail prices (for all items) published by the Office for National Statistics, or

(b) where that index is not published for a month, any substituted index or figures published by that Office.

(6) An order under this section-

(a) shall be made by statutory instrument,

(b) may include transitional provision, and

Guarantee payments.

31. For section 31(7) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (guarantee payments: limits) there shall be substituted-

	"(7) The Secretary of State may by order vary-
	(a) the length of the period specified in subsection (2);
	(b) a limit specified in subsection (3) or (4)."

Sections 29 to 31: consequential.

32. - (1) The following provisions (which confer power to increase sums) shall cease to have effect-

(a) sections 120(2), 124(2), 186(2) and 227(2) to (4) of the Employment Rights Act 1996;

(b) sections 159 and 176(7) and (8) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

(2) Section 208 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (review of limits) shall cease to have effect.

(3) An increase effected, before section 30 comes into force, by virtue of a provision repealed by this section shall continue to have effect notwithstanding this section (but subject to section 30(2) and (4)).

Prepared 24 March 1999