Employment Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 8: 8: After Clause 3, insert the following new Clause— ““Time for completing disciplinary and grievance procedures (1) There is no minimum time for conducting disciplinary and grievance procedures. (2) An employer shall conclude disciplinary and grievance procedures not more than three months from the date the employee was notified of the disciplinary matter or, as the case may be, the date the employer was notified of the grievance. (3) A disciplinary or grievance procedure shall be deemed to have been concluded when the employer’s decision and reasons for the decision have been given to the employee. (4) The time limit for completing the procedure may be extended if the party wanting to extend it notifies the other party giving reasons for the extension, and the proposed period of the extension, and the other party agrees. (5) A party shall not unreasonably refuse to agree to an extension of time requested by another party. (6) All parties shall try to co-operate with the other in satisfying requests for information and arranging and attending meetings that are a part of the process. (7) Where, during a disciplinary process, the employee subject to that process notifies the employer of a grievance that is related to the disciplinary matter, the disciplinary process or a related matter, the disciplinary process may be suspended and resumed after the employer has addressed the grievance. (8) Where, during a grievance process, an employer notifies a grieving employee that he or she is subject to disciplinary proceedings, any disciplinary sanction that might be imposed as a consequence of those proceedings shall not be imposed unless and until the grievance procedure has been completed.”” The noble Lord said: I declare an interest as previously having been managing director of a manufacturing company. I do not have any formal experience of dispute resolution. Perhaps that is because I was so draconian that no issues were raised with me while I was managing director, but I hope that it was because we were able to discuss problems at an early stage and address them promptly. Being prompt is the meat of this amendment, which addresses completing disciplinary and grievance procedures within a declared time. We believe that to be desirable in order to speed up the process. At times, there is the bad practice of delaying the process to such an extent that the individual is effectively ground down and justice is denied. The longer these matters last, the higher the level of stress encountered by all parties, which can result in sickness and a prolonged process, which is not good. The longer the process, the less chance of trust and a good outcome. In the amendment, there is provision for the time limit for completing the procedure to be extended if the party wanting to extend notifies the other party giving reasons for the extension to get the other party to agree, so that issue is covered. Where grievance is involved, we also call for a reasonable process for it to be addressed, considered and got out of the way. We wish to encourage an open and reasonable atmosphere and, as much as possible, a prompt resolution to sort out problems quickly and sensibly. This is a straightforward amendment based on the need to get satisfaction, with sufficient time being provided to get the satisfaction without people feeling ground down and unsure in a long process. I beg to move.