Clause 21 - Dismissal where employees taking protected industrial action locked out
Employment Relations Bill
10:00 am
Mr Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk, Conservative)
The essence of the clause is the case of Davis v Friction Dynamics. The clause introduces an additional element to the protections for striking employees that appear in section 238A of the 1992 Act by changing the scope of the eight-week period currently specified by providing for locked-out days
to be disregarded when determining the length of the period. We have looked at the clause in detail, and the Minister's Department has had to respond to the Friction Dynamics case. It has given a watertight response—a lot of work obviously went into it—and I congratulate the Department on drafting a form of words that meets the need. I hope that it will stand the test of time if it is again used in court.