Employment Act 2008
The Employment Act 2008 strengthens, simplifies and clarifies key aspects of UK employment law. The Act brings together both elements of the Government’s employment relations strategy – increasing protection for vulnerable workers and lightening the load for law-abiding business. It was introduced to Parliament on 6 December 2007 in the House of Lords and received Royal Assent on 13 November 2008.
Employment Act 2008 (OPSI website)
Employment Act 2008 (PDF document)
Explanatory notes for the Act (OPSI website)
Explanatory notes for the Act (PDF document)
Detail of the Act's progress through Parliament (UK Parliament Website)
Impact Assessments
Please note: the impact assessments for the dispute resolution review and trade union law will be updated shortly.
What does the Act cover?
The Employment Act 2008 is comprised of 23 sections and the main provisions are as follows:
- Sections 1-7 make the following changes to the law relating to dispute resolution in the workplace:
- repeal the existing statutory dispute resolution procedures and related provisions about procedural unfairness in dismissal cases
- confer discretionary powers on employment tribunals to adjust awards by up to 25 per cent if parties have failed unreasonably to comply with a relevant Code of Practice
- make changes to the law relating to conciliation by Acas
- amend tribunals’ powers by which they may reach a determination without a hearing
- allow tribunals to award compensation for financial loss in certain types of monetary claim
- Sections 8-12 make changes to the enforcement of the national minimum wage (NMW):
- introduce a new method of calculating arrears
- replace enforcement and penalty notices with a single notice of underpayment which will include a civil penalty against employers who have not complied with NMW requirements
- increase the civil enforcement powers available to officers enforcing the NMW
- make offences under NMW Act 1998 triable in the Crown court or the Magistrates’ court
- increase the criminal investigative powers available to officers enforcing the NMW
- Section 13 clarifies that Cadet Force Adult Volunteers (CFAVs) do not qualify for the NMW
- Section 14 broadens the type of expenses that can be reimbursed to voluntary workers without triggering eligibility for the NMW
- Sections 15-17 make the following amendments to the employment agency standards enforcement regime:
- offences under EAA 1973 are triable in the Crown court or the Magistrates' court
- confer additional inspection powers on the EAS inspectorate
- provides that, where an offence has been committed by partnerships in Scotland, any individual partners who are culpable may be prosecuted as well as the partnership itself
- Section 18 allows officers enforcing the NMW and officers enforcing employment agency standards to share information for the purpose of their respective enforcement functions
- Section 19 amends trade union membership law in line with the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights on Aslef v UK
Consultations
Several different consultation documents were issued on the matters included in the Act:
Sections 1–7: Resolving disputes in the workplace – A consultation (21st March – 20th June 2007)
Sections 8-12 and 15-16: National Minimum Wage and Employment Agency Standards enforcement consultation (16th May – 8th August 2007)
Sections 13-14: National minimum wage and voluntary workers (12th June – 4th September 2007)
Section 19: The judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the ASLEF v UK Case: implications for Trade Union law (16th May – 8th August 2007)
(177KB)