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Some
of the more noteworthy Consultation Documents whose deadlines
have passed may be accessed from this page.
Implementation of the European Company Statute - the
European Public Limited-Liability Company Regulations 2004
Consultative document seeking views on the application in Great
Britain of the European Company Statute (ECS). The ECS creates
a legal framework for a new form of company, the European Company
or 'Societas Europaea' (SE), and consists of a Regulation (setting
out the core company law framework) and a linked Directive concerning
employee involvement in SEs.
The consultation
closes on 9 January 2004.
Informing and consulting employees
A Consultation document 
(212Kb):High Performance Workplaces: Informing and Consulting
Employees sets out draft legislative proposals in respect of the implementation
of the EC directive on informing and consulting employees.
Consultation closes 7 November 2003.
Consultation on proposed National Minimum Wage amendments
Consultation
(16Kb) setting
out the Government's proposal to make some amendments to the National
Minimum Wage Act in the forthcoming Employment Relations Bill.
A Regulatory Impact Assessment
(16Kb)
is also available.
Consultation closes 31 October
2003.
Government
response to the consultation.
Employment Act 2002: Dispute Resolution
Public consultation
on draft regulatory proposals for the introduction of statutory
dispute resolution procedures during 2004
Consultation closes 29 October
2003.
Equality
and Diversity: Age Matters
This consultation
seeks views on proposals for outlawing age discrimination in
employment and vocational training. The Government is particularly
interested in comments on options for tackling employers'
mandatory retirement ages.
Deadline for responses is 20 October 2003
European Works Councils
The European Commission has indicated that it will review the
operation of the European Works Council directive before the end of 2003. To prepare for
this, the DTI has published a discussion document: The UK
Experience of European Works Councils 
(75Kb).
Responses should be sent to informing@dti.gsi.gov.uk
or you can write to us at: Department of Trade and Industry,
Employee Involvement Team,
UG80, 1 Victoria Street,
London SW1H 0ET.
The deadline
for responses is 7 October 2003.
Consultation
on religion and sexual orientation amendment regulations
A consultation
(launched 15 September 2003) on draft Regulations which will
outlaw discrimination and harassment on grounds of religion or
belief and sexual orientation by trustees and managers of pension
schemes in Great Britain. If approved by Parliament, the
Regulations will implement the remaining provisions of the EC
Directive of November 2000, which established a general framework
for equal treatment in employment, insofar as it relates to
discrimination on grounds of religion or belief and sexual
orientation.
The
consultation closes on 10 October 2003.
Balancing
work and family life
This
document
(610Kb) sets out the
Government's strategy on helping working parents and invites views
on possible next steps once new laws for these parents have bedded
down. The Government would particularly welcome views on the
possible options set out, and on which of them should be
considered priorities.
Deadline for
response: 31 August 2003
Employer
supported childcare: improving the tax and National Insurance
exemptions
The Inland
Revenue and HM Treasury have published a consultation
document on expanding the tax and NICs exemptions on
employer-supported childcare.
Deadline for
response: 31 May 2003
Review of the
Employment Relations Act 1999
The Secretary of
State announced a review of the Employment Relations Act in July
2002. The consultation document
examines the operation of the review and puts forward a number of
proposals.
Deadline for
response:
22 May 2003.
Government
response
(180Kb)
to the consultation.
Blacklisting of trade unionists
As part of the review
of the Employment Relations Act 1999, the Government is consulting
on draft regulations
(57Kb)
prohibiting blacklisting of trade unionists and has also
published a Regulatory impact assessment
(13Kb).
Deadline for
response:
22 May 2003.
Consultation
on the future of fair estimate agreements
Consultation
(38Kb)
on proposed changes to the current system of how the
National Minimum Wage applies to output workers, including
homeworkers.
Deadline for
response:
9 May 2003.
Commencement
dates for employment regulations
This
consultation
document (also available in Welsh)
asks for views on how best to take forward the second
recommendation in the Better Regulation Task Force’s report, Employment
Regulation: striking a balance, that the DTI and other
Departments and Agencies should, as far as possible, group together
commencement dates of employment policy changes.
Deadline
for response: 30 January 2003
Employment
status in relation to statutory employment rights
The
Government is undertaking a review of employment status
in relation to statutory employment rights. As part of this
review, the Government has published a discussion
document
(145Kb), and a summary in Welsh,
seeking views
on the potential effects of, and justification for, extending the
current framework of statutory employment rights to those working
people who may be currently excluded from them.
Deadline for
response: 11 December 2002
Information
and Consultation Directive
A discussion
paper High
Performance Workplaces: The Role of Employee Involvement in a
Modern Economy begins the Government's consultation on the
implementation of the EC Directive on Informing and Consulting
employees. The directive is due to come into force in the UK by
March 2005 and this discussion paper will be followed by more
detailed legislative proposals.
Deadline for
response: 11 December 2002
Proposal
for a Directive on the Working Conditions of Temporary (Agency)
Workers
This
consultation document asks
for comments on the European Commission proposal on temporary
agency work. It consists of a brief summary of the main
requirements of the Commission proposal and a summarised version
of the Regulatory Impact Assessment. The Commission proposal aims
to improve the quality of temporary agency work by applying an
equal treatment principle to temporary agency workers compared
with permanent ones. The
directive would mean that a temporary worker should not be treated
less favourably than a similar worker in the user company to which
the temporary worker is assigned.
Deadline
for response: 18 October 2002
Summary
of responses
Flexible working for parents of young children
The Government published a consultation
document
(93Kb) on
the draft regulations necessary to implement the right for mothers
and fathers of children aged under six or disabled children aged
under 18 to apply to work flexibly. The consultation invites
comments on the draft regulations.
Deadline for response: 10 October 2002
Fixed Term Work
and amendment to Part-time Workers Regulations
A consultation
document on UK regulations to implement the Fixed Term
Work Directive was published on 9 March 2001. The Directive
has the broad aim of preventing fixed term employees from
being less favourably treated than similar permanent employees.
It limits the scope for using a series of fixed term contracts
to employ the same person in a "permanent" position,
and improves access to training and to information on permanent
jobs for fixed term employees. In implementing the Directive,
the Government wishes to prevent real abuses of fixed term
employment contracts without interfering with normal and
acceptable employment practices, and will aim to minimise
the burden on business, particularly small business.
Deadline
for response: 31 May 2001
Government
response
This
consultation paper
[also
available in Welsh
(25Kb)]
asks
for comments on the draft Fixed-Term Employees (prevention
of less favourable treatment) Regulations 2002. It
consists of explanatory notes which summarise the proposed
changes to the current legal position, the draft regulations
and a summarised version of the Regulatory Impact
Assessment. The regulations will transpose the EC Fixed Term
Work Directive and prevent fixed term employees from being
discriminated against in terms of pay and pensions. The
Government also believes that two
amendments will be required to the Part-time Workers
(Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000
and has published draft
regulations
(10Kb)
for consultation. These cover Comparators (Regulation 2) and Access to
Occupational Pension Scheme (Regulation 8(8)). The
Fixed Term Work Directive is due to be transposed by 10 July
2002.
Deadline
for response: 15 April 2002
Government
response
Towards
Equality and Diversity: Implementing the Employment and Race
Directives
The
Government proposes to outlaw unfair discrimination at work
on grounds of sexual orientation, religion and age, and to
amend the current disability and race discrimination laws.
These proposals mark
the start of an extensive consultation process with
employers, employees and other interest groups.
Deadline
for response: 31 March 2002
Equality
and diversity: the way ahead
The
Government proposes to outlaw unfair discrimination at work
on the grounds of sexual orientation, religion and age and
to amend the current laws on disability, race and equal pay
(for women and men). The
Way Ahead sets out the Government's legislative
proposals on equality, drawing on results of consultations
over the last two years. It also seeks views on further
questions about sex, race and disability discrimination.
Deadline
for response: 24 January 2003
Transfer
of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 (TUPE)
The Government
has published proposals
for a substantial package of reforms to the TUPE Regulations,
following revisions to the Acquired Rights Directive. These include
proposals for updating and clarifying the existing Regulations
as well as consideration of a number of new options included in
the revised Directive.
Deadline for
response: 15 December 2001
Proposal on
the EU Statute
for a European Co-operative Society
The DTI and Treasury are carrying
out a joint consultation
exercise on the above proposal. The Statute consists of
a Regulation setting out the framework for a new type of
pan-European institution, which could operate across Member
States on the basis of registration in one Member State,
and a draft directive requiring a particular level of employee
involvement in each institution. HM Treasury has UK policy
responsibility for the draft Regulation and the Department
of Trade and Industry has UK policy responsibility for the
draft employee
involvement Directive.
Deadline for response: 31 October
2001
Improving
dispute resolution
The
Government has published Routes
to Resolution: Improving dispute resolution in Britain
(168Kb) [Welsh version
(169Kb)] setting out proposals to improve dispute resolution
in the workplace, promote conciliation and modernise
employment tribunals. This followed a review of employment dispute resolution announced
in June 2001. (See press
notice announcing the review). A background paper published
at the start of the review - Dispute Resolution
in Britain
(152Kb) - set out the key facts and figures to inform the
debate. See also The Code
on consultation criteria.
Deadline
for response: 8 October 2001
Government
response to the consultation
Parental Leave, and Maternity,
Paternity and Adoption Leave and Pay
The
Government intends to make changes to the regulations which
govern parental leave. At the moment, only parents of children
born on or after 15 December 1999 qualify for the right,
and parents of disabled children are entitled only to the
same amount of leave, 13 weeks, as all other parents. The changes now planned
(48Kb)
will mean that all parents of
children who were under five as at 15 December 1999 will
be eligible to take parental leave. In addition all
parents of disabled children will be able to take up to 18
weeks’ leave.
Deadline
for response: 8 August 2001
Government
response to
the consultation
A new
simplified framework of maternity
pay and leave
(57Kb) regulations is being proposed for employers and
employees. The proposed framework for adoption
leave
(14Kb) will entitle one adoptive parent to 26 weeks’ paid
leave and 26 weeks’ unpaid leave, with the other adoptive
parent able to take two weeks’ paid leave around the time
of placement. The paternity
leave
(73Kb) framework addresses concerns that the right, which is
due to start in 2003, should be as easy to administer as
possible. Also available in Welsh: Maternity
(66Kb), Adoption
(48Kb), Paternity
(68Kb).
Deadline
for response: 8 August 2001
The
Government has published a consultation
document on draft
regulations to simplify the current maternity and parental
leave schemes, and set out the fine detail of how the new rights
to paternity and adoption leave and pay will operate.
The consultation also includes draft
model documents that offer standard templates for use by
employers and employees in relation to maternity, paternity and
adoption leave and pay. The consultation paper invites technical
comments on the draft regulations and draft model documents, as
well as comments on a limited number of outstanding policy issues.
Deadline
for response: 19 July 2002
Working
Time Regulations amendments
The
Government is using a short public
consultation
(31Kb) on proposals to amend the Working Time Regulations
to remove the 13-week qualifying period before the minimum
4-week paid annual leave entitlement is activated, and to
provide for monthly accrual of the entitlement in the first
year of employment. This follows a judgement delivered by
the European Court of Justice on 26 June 2001.
Deadline
for response: 27 July 2001
Summary of
responses to the consultation
(16Kb)
The
Horizontal Amending Directive (HAD) extends working time
protections to sectors previously excluded: road, rail, air, sea,
and inland waterways transport, sea fishing, offshore work and the
activities of junior doctors. We are consulting
on how to implement the HAD in Great Britain.
Deadline
for response: 31 January 2003
Young
workers directive - end of UK opt-outs
The
consultation document
setting out the Government's objectives in implementing
provisions of the Young Workers Directive from which the
UK had previously opted out was published on 19 December.
It discusses various options for implementation, including
the extent to which use should be made of the available
derogations.
Deadline
for responses: 30 March 2001
A
second consultation
document, setting out the Government's proposals for
implementing provisions of the Young Workers Directive from
which the UK had previously opted out, namely the working
time and night work limits, was published on 14 June 2002.
It includes a draft statutory instrument.
Deadline for response: 6 September 2002
Government
response to the consultation
Work
and Parents: Competitiveness and Choice
The
Green Paper Work and Parents: Competitiveness
and Choice was published on 7 December 2000. This consultation
document is the result of extensive discussions with businesses,
employees and interest groups and marks the first stage
in the most comprehensive review of work and parents ever
undertaken by a government in Britain.
Deadline
for responses: 7 March 2001.
Industrial
Action Ballots and Notice to Employers
The
Government invites views on its revised Code of Practice,
"Industrial Action Ballots and Notice to Employers".
Consultation
Document
(79Kb)
Consultation
Document
in MS Word format (94Kb)
Deadline
for responses: 5 June 2000
Summary
of responses
The
Right to be Accompanied in Disciplinary and Grievance Hearings
The
Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) is
consulting on its draft Code of Practice on Disciplinary
and Grievance Procedures.
Copies
of the draft code can be obtained from:-
David
Taylor
ACAS Secretariat
Room 227
Brandon House
180 Borough High Street
London SE1 1LW
TEL 020 7210 3651
FAX 020 7210 3645
email:dtaylor@acas.org.uk
The
draft is also available on the ACAS website.
Deadline for responses: 24 March 2000 - please note:
responses should be sent to ACAS at the above address.
Trade
Union Recognition
The
Government invites views on two specific aspects of the
statutory procedure on the recognition of trade unions for
collective bargaining purposes:
-
a Code of Practice on a union'
s access
to workers participating in recognition and derecognition
ballots; and
- a
method of conducting collective bargaining.
Consultation
Document in pdf format
(74Kb)
Consultation
Document in MS Word format (153Kb)
Deadline
for responses: 20 March 2000
Part-time
Work
Proposals
to end less favourable treatment of part-time employees.
Consultation
Document in pdf format
(60Kb)
Consultation
Document
in MS Word format (166Kb)
Deadline
for responses: 27 February 2000
Press
notices:
17
January 2000
(10Kb)
3 May 2000
(21Kb)
UK
Implementation of the European Works Council Directive
An invitation
to comment on how the Government intended to implement the
extension to the UK of Council
Directive 94/45/EC of 22 September 1994 on the establishment
of a European Works Council or a procedure in Community-scale
undertakings for the purpose of informing and consulting
employees.
Consultation
Document
(104Kb)
Annex
(23Kb)
Draft
Regulations
(95Kb)
Draft Regulatory Impact Assessment
(42Kb)
Deadline
for responses: 8 October 1999
The Transnational
Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 1999
were laid before Parliament on 14 December 1999 and came
into force on 15 January 2000.
Regulation
of the Private Recruitment Industry
To seek
views on an overhaul of regulations to be made under Sections
5(1) and 6(1) of the Employment Agencies Act 1973 (as amended
by the Employment Relations Act 1999) in accordance with
Section 12 (2).
Consultation
Document
(390Kb)
Deadline
for responses: 30 September 1999
The
Government gave its initial response
on 21 February 2000 and subsequently issued a draft
regulation on charging of temporary to permanent transfer
fees.
Deadline
for responses: 14 April 2000
A
revised draft of the Conduct of
Employment Agencies and Employment Business Regulations
(111Kb) was
made available for comment,
as well as an explanatory commentary
detailing the main changes
(27Kb)
to draft regulations issued for consultation in May 1999.
The Regulatory Impact Assessment
(59Kb) was also updated. The
draft regulations sought to secure the proper conduct of
employment agencies and employment businesses and to protect
the interests of those using them, both workers and hirers.
Deadline for responses: 16 March 2001
This
consultation exercise invites comments on the main proposed
changes to the draft Conduct
of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations
2002. These concern “temp-to-temp and temp-to-third
party” transfer fees, the charging of fees by agencies to
work-seekers who are limited companies, the application of
the legislation to incorporated work-seekers and a
continuing obligation regarding the suitability of workers
placed by recruitment companies. To enable the industry to
make the necessary changes to their operations, the
Government intends to lay the final draft of the
Regulations, subject to any changes resulting from the
present consultation, before Parliament by the end of 2002
with a view to bringing them into force in the first half of
2003, six months after they are approved by Parliament.
Deadline
for response: 1 November 2002
Workplace Employment Relations Survey
The sponsors of the 1998 Workplace Employee
Relations Survey (WERS98) are actively considering the case for conducting a
fifth WERS in 2004. This is subject to securing the appropriate funding. To
inform thinking on the overall design and scope of another WERS, the consultation
seeks views on all aspects of WERS, including: its broad design; the sampling
population; survey content; and survey outputs.
Deadline for response: 16 September 2002
National Minimum Wage
A consultation
document was published in September 1998 seeking comments
on the Government's proposed regulations to implement the
National Minimum Wage.
Draft
National Minimum Wage Regulations
| Deadline
for responses: |
6
November 1998 |
Employment
Tribunal Members
To seek
views on proposals for the recruitment and appointments
procedure for employment tribunal lay members.
Available
in pdf format
(23Kb)
Deadline
for responses: 30 April 1998
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