The DTI has just announced that it will be bringing some of the newly passed Employment Relations Act 2004 (which received Royal Assent on 16th September 2004) into force tomorrow. The sections coming into force are:
- extending the role of a representative at a disciplinary / grievande hearing (s37 of the new Act, replacing s10 of the Employment Relations Act 1999);
- extending the EAT's jurisdiction to cover appeals from claims brought for breach of the right to allow a representative at disciplinary or grievance hearings (through a drafting omission, technically the EAT has never had jurisdiction to hear such appeals, meaning that cases on the point are ultra vires) (s38 of the new Act)
- introducing a right for workers not to be offered an inducement not to join a trade union, and extending protection against suffering a detriment on trade union grounds (ss29-32 of the new Act).
Employment Relations Act 2004
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