Employment Relations Act 1999: Commencement Orders No 1 and No2
(SIs 1999/2509 and 1999/2830)

The Employment Relations Act became law in July 1999. The new rights are being brought into force. Most publicity surrounded the increase in the compensation limit for unfair dismissal to £50,000, but that was by no means the only right which is now effective.

Provisions in force from September 1999

Protection against dismissal of fixed term contract workers for pregnancy or asserting a statutory right (section 18(6)).

The power to make regulations under the Act (s 42) and the specific power to make regulations which extend the TUPE regulations beyond the provisions of the Acquired Rights Directive and allow orders to treat particular public sector transfers as though they were covered by TUPE (s 38). One such "TUPE order" has already been made covering the Rent Officer service.

Substantive provisions in force from 25 October 1999

  • Protecting trade union members and activists from being subjected to any detriment by an act or omission of the employer: an improvement of the previous law on "action short of dismissal" (s 2 and schedule 2) 
  • Ending the use of waiver clauses which exclude fixed term contract workers from unfair dismissal rights. Only existing contracts with waivers signed before 25 October will validly exclude rights (s 18). 
  • Removing the right for residential members of religious communities to receive the minimum wage and allowing tax and national insurance information gathered by the Inland Revenue to be used in minimum wage enforcement (s 22 and 39) 
  • Amending the duties of ACAS and the Central Arbitration Committee in line with the new legislation (s 26 and 27). 
  • Abolishing the Commissioner for the Rights of Trade Union Members and Commissioner for Protection against Unlawful Industrial Action (s 28) 
  • Extending the powers of the Certification Officer and preventing duplication of complaints by stopping complaints being pursued before both the CO and the courts (s 29 and sched 6). 
  • Authorising the government to make funding available for partnerships at work (s 30). 
  • Removing the provisions limiting employment rights to those ordinarily working in Britain (s 32). 
  • Increasing the limit for the compensatory award on unfair dismissal to £50,000, providing for automatic uprating of limits in line with inflation, removing the limit on compensation for health and safety and whistleblowing cases and simplifying the system of trade union or representatives dismissals so that it is replaced with a single "additional award" (s 33 -37). 
  • Bringing the qualifying period for unfair dismissal rights for school staff in line with the reduced one year period (s 40)

Regulation making powers in force from 25 October 1999

The government now has powers to make regulations on the issues listed in this section. For many of them, there will be further consultation before draft regulations are presented.

  • Prohibiting the compilation of lists of trade union members and activists for use by employers to refuse them employment or discriminate against them (which the legislation refers to as "blacklisting") (s 3 and sched 3). 
  • Prohibiting discrimination against part-time workers (s 19 - 21). This implements the Part-Time Workers Directive and must be in force by April 2000. 
  • Extending employment rights to wider categories of workers, where those rights are presently confined to employees (s 23). 
  • Upgrading the regulation of employment agencies (s 31 and sched 7).

Provisions coming into force on 15 December 1999

The new "family friendly" provisions on maternity leave, parental leave and time off for emergencies affecting dependants (s 7 - 9 and sched 4).

What is still to do?

This still leaves some very significant provisions for which no definite date has yet been set. 
These include the changes to the law on industrial action ballots and notices and the new unfair dismissal rights for strikers. These are expected to be in force in the Spring as are the improved rights for national security workers.

It looks like we shall have to wait until the middle of next year for the new right to be accompanied in disciplinary and grievance hearings and the statutory procedure for trade union recognition.