Chambers Blog

 The government has announced that the minimum pay for apprentices will rise to £95 per week. The increase will mainly benefit low-paid sectors such as care and hairdressing, described by the government as employing more women, rather than construction where apprentice wages are on average already higher than this.

This minimum is not under the auspices of the national minimum wage legislation, from which apprentices under the age of 19 or in their first year are exempt, but instead is a contractual rate between employers and the Learning & Skills Council. The government has however amended the Low Pay Commission's terms of reference to consider the future of the exemption, bearing in mind that by the time the school leaving age is raised to 18 in 2013 it is intended there will be around 500,000 apprentices in the UK.

Written by Joseph Neville, Barrister at New Walk Chambers, specialising in Employment law.

Many companies, and an increasing number of employees, are utilising consultancy or Internet companies to resolve workplace disputes, rather than a firm of solicitors or a barrister. A recent decision by the Employment Appeal Tribunal confirms that legal privilege does not attach to communications between these unqualified representatives and their clients.

What does this mean for you? Let's say an employee or an employer took legal advice from one of these companies prior to raising or dealing with a grievance. If the dispute subsequently went to an employment tribunal, that party could be forced to disclose the legal advice he or she received. This could be very harmful to settlement negotiations, especially if the legal advice was the not-so-uncommon "Your prospects are weak but you should proceed in the hope of settlement!"

Advice from barristers to their clients in employment disputes is always confidential, and can't be produced in evidence at the tribunal. New Walk Chambers has public access barristers who can provide valuable and tactical advice at a reasonable cost. If done at an early stage this can ensure that you don't put a foot wrong later and risk failure in any subsequent tribunal case.

Please contact us with any queries.

Written by Robert Rees, Direct Access Barrister at New Walk Chambers, specialising in Employment Law.

BERR has launched a consultation on extending the classes of people who may advise upon and sign off compromise agreements. The proposal is to add members of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development - the representative body for HR professionals. The consultation can be found here.

Currently a compromise agreement must usually be signed off by a qualified lawyer. New Walk Chambers has several barristers specialising in employment law who can provide expert advice on compromise agreements, with nationwide coverage. In the event that you are advised to sign the compromise agreement, then your legal costs usually will be paid by your employer. Please see our full page on compromise agreements for details.

Written by Joseph Neville, Barrister at New Walk Chambers, specialising in Employment Law and Compromise agreements.

Since my blog dated 31^st March 2008 more changes have been proposed in Employment Law. ACAS have now released proposals for the new Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures. The revised code is set to simplify the existing code and provides basic practical guidance to employers, employees and their representatives. It also sets out principles for handling disciplinary and grievance situations in the workplace. A key element of the new proposals is that they aim to encourage the internal resolution of disputes without the need to attend an Employment Tribunal.

Written by K Richards.

It seems that fundamental changes in the employment law are on the way (albeit some may say long overdue). The Employment Law Bill 2007, which is currently being debated in the House of Lords is set to repeal the Employment Act 2002 (Dispute Resolution) Regulations 2004.

 The 2004 Regulations introduced the statutory disciplinary and grievance procedures in an attempt to reduce the employment litigation. For those practising law in this area it is abundantly clear that this has not been the case. Instead research conducted by the Department for Trade and Industry shows that under the Regulations disputes have become more formalised with the involvement of solicitors and barristers at earlier stages.

The Bill proposes a new non-regulatory system of employment procedures to encourage the informal resolution of disputes and an increased involvement by ACAS. In addition, increased powers will be given to tribunals' to reach a determination without a hearing.

 Other changes proposed within the Bill include:

• Changes to the enforcement of the national minimum wage, for example by making offences under the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 triable either in the Crown Court or Magistrates' court;
• Changes to ensure compliance with the European Court of Human Rights judgement in Aslef v UK. Clearer rights for trade unions could not lawfully expel British National Party activists;
• A new fast track procedure for dealing with certain monetary disputes.

The Bill is due to receive Royal Assent this summer and is currently scheduled to come into force in stages from October 2008.

Written by K Richards