Clause 31 - Non-completion of statutory procedure: adjustment of awards
Employment Bill
10:30 am
Mr Alan Johnson (Minister of State (Employment and the Regions), Department of Trade and Industry; Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle, Labour)
A key part of the Bill is to ensure that procedures are used to try to resolve disputes. Clause 31 and the regulations made under it will encourage completion of the statutory procedures by enabling tribunals to vary an award if a party does not comply with the requirements of the procedure in question.
At the same time, we recognise that there will be occasions when it will not be appropriate or possible for a party to complete or even initiate procedures. One example would be where the applicant has suffered harassment and the person to whom she would have to complain has been implicated in the harassment claim. Another example would be where there was the threat of violence by either party. That issue was raised in an earlier debate. Serious illness could also make completion of the procedures impossible. Nor do we envisage that the statutory procedures should be used when the issue has been handled as a collective process.
When provisions are fleshed out in regulations, a balance will have to be struck between not allowing so many exemptions as to nullify the purpose of the clause and recognising that there will be circumstances in which it would be unreasonable or impractical to expect the procedures to be used or completed.