Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 comes into force
Implementation date: To be confirmed
The Act introduces various provisions relating to employment law, tribunal procedure and pay:
- It provides that regulations must be implemented under s.78 of the Equality Act 2010 within the next 12 months to require employers to publish information every year showing whether there are differences in gender pay.
- It provides for regulations to be implemented to require "prescribed persons" under the whistleblowing legislation to produce and publish an annual report on public interest disclosures.
- It introduces a system of warnings to enforce unpaid tribunal awards, including a notice by an enforcement officer giving the employer 28 days to pay the award, followed by a penalty notice if the award remains unpaid requiring the employer to pay a penalty to the Secretary of State.
- It provides for regulations to be implemented to limit the number of postponements of a hearing that a tribunal may grant to a party to proceedings, and to require a tribunal to consider whether or not to make a costs award against a party where that party has made a late application for postponement.
- It amends the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 so that the maximum £20,000 penalty for underpayment of the national minimum wage can be imposed for each underpaid worker, rather than being the total amount of the penalty that can be imposed for all workers.
- It prescribes that exclusivity terms in zero hours contracts are unenforceable. An exclusivity term prohibits the individual from working under another contract or arrangement.
- It provides for regulations to be implemented to require individuals in the public sector to repay exit payments, including redundancy payments and payments on voluntary termination, where they return to work in the public sector.
- It provides for regulations to be implemented to provide protection against discrimination in recruitment for NHS whistleblowers.
