A number of important changes in employment law are due to take place this summer and the commencement dates have now been announced for the implementation of further parts of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 (ERRA) and the new employment tribunal rules. Please see our updated employment law timeline for further details of the main reforms that are due to take place over the coming months.
Whistleblowing
A number of provisions in the ERRA relating to whistleblowing come into force on 25 June 2013 for protected disclosures made after this date and employers will need to update their policies dealing with whistleblowing to reflect these changes. In particular:
- The definition of 'qualifying disclosure' in the Employment Rights Act 1996 is being amended to provide that disclosures must be 'in the public interest'. The test is whether the employee reasonably believes that the disclosure is in the public interest; the disclosure itself does not actually have to be shown to be in the public interest.
- The requirement that disclosures must be made in good faith is being removed but, if an employment tribunal believes that the disclosure was made in bad faith, it has the power to reduce the compensation by up to 25%.
- The definition of 'worker' is being slightly amended (for the purposes of whistleblowing only).
However, the change which will make employers vicariously liable for the actions of employees who victimise colleagues that have made a protected disclosure is not coming into force yet.
Employment tribunals
New employment tribunal rules of procedure are due to come into force on 29 July 2013, the same date that tribunal fees come into force.
If you would like more information, or specific advice on any of these issues please contact Roger Bull.