Employment Bill [HL]

I am grateful to my noble friend, but he will not be surprised to hear that my officials have already met Citizens Advice, for which I have the highest regard having been a chairman of a small citizens advice bureau some years ago. But my noble friend is perhaps suggesting that there should be another meeting. The Government are attempting to have research done on what is undoubtedly a very important matter. We are talking about orders, and they should be paid. Some callers to ACAS refer to unpaid awards, but there is no systematic recording of that information. Some of them may still be within the generous 42 days permitted for payment. There is no hard evidence—I wish there were. Anything that Citizens Advice or anybody else can do to provide that hard evidence would be very much appreciated. The amendment would do three things. First, it would allow awards to be enforced without the need for a county court order. Secondly, it would extend the period after which enforcement of awards could be initiated to three months—three months slightly surprises us, given that the current period is 42 days, which is less than half three months. Thirdly, it would make interest payable on awards which remain unpaid after that period; that is, three months. As the law stands, and as the Committee will know well, employment tribunal awards should be paid within 42 days of the judgment, unless the respondent chooses to appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal. Unpaid awards may then be enforced in the same way as county court judgments; that is, by means of a court order. Most awards are also subject to interest after the 42 days have elapsed, except in the special case of discrimination and equal pay claims, where interest accrues from the date of decision and where the tribunal has a discretion to award interest on any award for injury to feelings from the date of the Act which gave rise to the complaint. As my noble friend said in moving the amendment, Section 27 of and paragraph 43 of Schedule 8 to the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 will enable tribunal awards, including employment tribunal awards, to be enforced as if they were payable under a county court order; that is, the claimant can, for example, go straight to the bailiffs for enforcement. The 2007 Act also contains parallel measures, in Section 142, which will enable a legally binding agreement brokered by ACAS to be enforced in precisely the same way. Additional provisions in Schedule 8 to the Act will enable unpaid awards to be included on the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines. Inclusion on that register, which is often consulted by banks, building societies and credit companies when considering applications for credit, can make it more difficult for defaulters to obtain credit, and will provide an incentive to pay promptly. Responsibility for implementing these provisions, which are now an Act of Parliament, lie with the Ministry of Justice, which intends to implement them in April 2009, alongside the repeal of the statutory dispute procedures under the current Bill. Practical work is to be done to put in place the necessary administrative measures between the courts and the employment tribunals, and to ensure that good information is available to claimants. The provisions apply to any sum payable, including any award of costs as well as awards owing to successful claimants. It appears that the proposal to extend the period after which enforcement could be initiated to three months would have the effect of providing additional time for respondents to pay. An award must currently be paid within 42 days, unless an appeal to the EAT is lodged. I do not think that may Members of this Committee, nor those who support the amendment, would welcome this change. We are somewhat surprised that it should be part of such an amendment. Again, with regard to the payment of interest, it appears that the amendment would increase the time period before interest was charged on awards, which in most cases is currently 42 days from the date of judgment. The Committee will not be surprised to hear that the Government have no wish to increase that period, and I am sure that it is not noble Lords’ intention to do so. However, the measures that I have already described to streamline the enforcement process are designed to encourage early payment to the benefit of claimants. We are also providing help to vulnerable claimants through Clause 7 of the current Bill. Clause 7 gives tribunals the discretion to make additional awards against respondents to cover the full financial loss arising from money not paid to, or unlawfully withheld from, the claimant in claims for unlawful deductions and unpaid redundancy awards. This will extend an existing power in relation to unpaid holiday pay under the Working Time Regulations to these further jurisdictions and mean that claimants will not have to apply to the courts for awards compensating for consequential losses. In addition to the provisions in the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act, I should also refer to the fact that the Government are commissioning research on the payment and enforcement of awards to inform future procedures. Therefore, not only are we looking at the number of those who are paid but we are also commissioning research on the payment and enforcement of awards to inform future procedures. I hope that that is of interest and is approved of by the Committee. We share the concern raised in this debate that enforcement of awards is not just important but vital, and we are already taking action. Perhaps the action will not be quite as quick as those who support the amendment would like, but it is coming. I hope that there is a degree of reassurance in what I have had to say so that my noble friend can withdraw his amendment.