Schedule 2 - Statutory dispute resolution procedures
Employment Bill
4:15 pm
Mr Philip Hammond (Runnymede and Weybridge, Conservative)
I shall attempt to brief, and I shall not mind in the least if the Minister seeks in his reply to answer the last question raised by the hon. Member for North Norfolk. It was an interesting one and I, too, would be pleased to hear an answer to it.
The amendments probe the Minister on the question of whether all the steps in the procedure have to be dealt with in writing. The initial statement by the employer in the case of a dismissal or discipline procedure, and the initial statement by the employee in the case of a grievance procedure, clearly has to be in writing. It says so in the schedule. But it does not say that each of the subsequent steps must be in writing. After the appeal meeting, when, according to the schedule, the employer must inform the employee of his final decision, it seems self-evident that that must be in writing.
Without wishing to be over-bureaucratic, I would be horrified by the idea that a procedure that starts in writing can end up with the employer saying at the end of the appeal meeting, ''Right, that's it Fred, I have made my decision, you are still fired,'' with nothing appearing in writing. I hope that the Minister will tell me that this is unnecessary and that I have missed something, and that each of the steps will be in writing. I look forward to hearing that from him.