Hall, Mark
First fine imposed on defaulting company under consultation regulations
09 september 2007
On 24 July 2007, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT [1]) imposed a fine of
GBP 55,000 (about €81,000 as at 21 August 2007) on Macmillan Publishers Ltd
for failing to comply with their obligations under the UK’s Information and
Consultation of Employees (ICE) Regulations 2004 [2] (*UK0502103N* [3]).
Macmillan is thus the first company to receive a penalty notice under the new
regulations, which came into effect on 6 April 2005.
[1] http://www.employmentappeals.gov.uk/
[2] http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2004/20043426.htm
[3] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/employee-consultation-legislation-finalised
Mixed reaction to ‘opt-out’ from EU Charter of Fundamental Rights
20 ágúst 2007
After lengthy negotiations, the June 2007 European Council agreed that a new
‘reform treaty’ will be drawn up in place of the draft constitutional
treaty rejected by referenda in France and the Netherlands in 2005. An
Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) was convened on 23 July 2007 to draft the
new treaty, working to a mandate negotiated at the June summit.
Leading publisher in breach of information and consultation procedures
15 júlí 2007
In February 2007, in the first decision of its kind, the Central Arbitration
Committee (CAC [1]) upheld a complaint from the trade union Amicus that
Macmillan Publishers Ltd was in breach of its responsibilities under the
UK’s Information and Consultation of Employees (ICE) Regulations 2004 [2]
(UK0502103N [3]) and ordered the company to hold elections for information
and consultation representatives as required by the regulations’ default
provisions.
[1] http://www.cac.gov.uk/
[2] http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2004/20043426.htm
[3] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/employee-consultation-legislation-finalised
Ford announces plan to close UK foundry
27 maí 2007
On 29 March 2007, the Ford motor company announced its intention to close its
foundry in Leamington Spa in central Warwickshire with the loss of 365 jobs.
The plant will cease production on 21 July 2007. There will be no compulsory
redundancies, with employees being offered the choice of early retirement,
voluntary redundancy or relocation to another Ford site, as well as enhanced
pay-offs if they maintain uninterrupted production until the site closes.
Right to request flexible working extended to adult carers
18 March 2007
On 14 December 2006, the Employment Relations Minister at the Department of
Trade and Industry (DTI [1]), Jim Fitzpatrick MP, laid the Flexible Working
(Eligibility, Complaints and Remedies) (Amendment) Regulations 2006 [2]
before parliament for formal approval.
[1] http://www.dti.gov.uk/
[2] http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2006/20063314.htm
Government simplification plan targets employment regulation
25 febrúar 2007
On 11 December 2006, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI [1]) published
proposals for reviewing and simplifying a range of regulations for which it
is responsible, including employment law measures. The paper, entitled Better
regulation: Simplification plan (516Kb PDF) [2], is part of a
cross-government initiative to reduce the administrative burdens on
businesses. The DTI estimates that the proposed simplification measures will
save businesses up to GBP 700 million (about €1.06 billion as at 31 January
2007) a year. Its longer-term target is to reduce such costs by 25%.
[1] http://www.dti.gov.uk
[2] http://www.dti.gov.uk/files/file35872.pdf
Major union merger moves closer
18 febrúar 2007
During the autumn of 2006, significant progress was made towards the merger
of Amicus and the Transport and General Workers’ Union (T&G [1]) to form
the UK’s largest trade union.
[1] http://www.tgwu.org.uk
European Works Councils and transnational restructuring
09 janúar 2007
This report focuses on the role that EWCs play in influencing the handling of transnational restructuring. It analyses EWC agreements and relevant joint texts to assess how well equipped EWCs are to address the issue of restructuring. It looks at the kind of input EWCs make in practice and highlights the factors that appear to play an important role in favouring or hindering their involvement in transnational restructuring.
Social partners divided over stalemate in EU discussions on working time opt-out
08 janúar 2007
On 7 November 2006, the EU Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer
Affairs Council (EPSCO) held an extraordinary meeting to discuss the
amendment of Directive 2003/88/EC [1] concerning certain aspects of the
organisation of working time [2] (*UK0506104F* [3]). The Finnish EU
presidency hoped to achieve political agreement on changes to the directive,
including:
[1] http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32003L0088:EN:HTML
[2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/working-time
[3] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/mixed-uk-reaction-to-developments-concerning-amendment-of-eu-working-time-legislation
CBI survey highlights adverse impact of recent employment legislation
10 desember 2006
In September 2006, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI [1]) published
the results of its ninth annual employment trends survey, conducted in
conjunction with the Pertemps recruitment agency. The survey, carried out in
May 2006, records the responses of over 500 employers across all sectors of
the economy, 12% of which were public sector employers. The survey covered a
range of labour market issues, including employers’ views on the operation
and impact of key legislative measures. Its main findings are summarised
below.
[1] http://www.cbi.org.uk/