As part of its Review of Employment Law, the Government has recently published details of a package of reform measures, including a call for evidence over proposed reforms to the current whistleblowing laws.

Whistleblowing reforms

Employment Relations Minister, Jo Swinson, explained that the current whistleblowing system, created in 1998, works well, but that there is no room for complacency.

“We have already introduced significant changes which have strengthened the protections, but in order to better support those who take the often difficult decision to report wrongdoing at work, we are launching a call for evidence to help us see if further changes are required in light of this,” she said.

Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act

The changes Jo Swinson refers to are found in the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 (the Act), and include amendments to strengthen the whistleblowing protection framework in the following ways:

• to ensure people only blow the whistle on matters of public interest,
• to allow whistleblowing claims to go through the Employment Tribunal system without being too easily dismissed for disclosures not being made in good faith, and
• to introduce a redress route for people who suffer a detriment for whistleblowing at the hands of a co-worker.

The Government is now seeking evidence to help it to look more closely at those aspects of the framework that are unaffected by the changes implemented by the Act. It intends to consider whether any aspects of the protections no longer work in the way originally intended and whether further changes are needed in light of that evidence.

Other employment law changes

In addition to the proposed whistleblowing reforms, the Government has also outlined a series of additional changes, including:

• changes that will make employment tribunals easier to understand, more efficient and make sure that weak cases that should not proceed are identified earlier and dealt with more effectively,
• changes to legislation, and supporting guidance and tools, which make settlement agreements easier to use as a means of resolving workplace dispute, including where an employment relationship is not working out,
• in response to the consultation on reforms to the rules governing the recruitment sector legislation, the Government intends to remove some of the regulatory burden on business and focus regulation where workers are most at risk of exploitation, and
• creating an unfair dismissal award cap of 12 months’ pay.

Settlement agreements

The Government’s changes with regard to settlement agreements came into effect on 29th July, along with a raft of other important measures. This means that from now on offers of settlement and their surrounding negotiations will normally be inadmissible as evidence in an unfair dismissal claim.

The Government wishes to promote the use of settlement agreements (formerly known as compromise agreements) as it believes they are a useful way of resolving workplace disputes without the need to go to a tribunal.

The new legislation will be supported by a new statutory code of practice from Acas, and backed up by guidance documents that will give employers and employees practical advice on how to negotiate settlements.

See more on settlement agreements here.

Employment Tribunal fees

One other measure that came into force on 29th July was the controversial introduction of fees for people seeking to make a claim to an employment tribunal.

The costs vary, depending on the type of case and the number of people involved, but in general the Government will now charge £160 or £250 to file the claim in the first place. A further charge of £230 or £950 will then be made if the claim goes to a hearing.

According to the BBC, the union Unison is planning a judicial review of the decision to impose the fees, with the hearing set for October.

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