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Debate on bill and Committee proceeding on Monday, 25 February 2008, in the House of Lords.

Employment Bill [HL]

Employment Bill (HL). Lords Committee stage second day. Grand Committee held in the Moses Room.

Secondary information

Type
Parliamentary proceeding
Reference
699 c65-114GC 
Session
2007-08
Department
Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
Legislative stage
Committee stage
Procedure
New clauses
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords Grand Committee
Related items
Proceeding contributions
Lord Bach | 699 c112-3GC (Link to this contribution) I shall do my best to explain Clause 10. The Government are determined to ensure full, effective enf...
Baroness Wilcox | 699 c114GC (Link to this contribution) I thank the Minister for that, but I am not sure. What is this—guilty until proved innocent or innoc...
Show all contributions (75)
Lord Watson of Invergowrie | 699 c107GC (Link to this contribution) If the Minister and his officials have not already done so, might they meet Citizens Advice, which h...
Baroness Wilcox | 699 c112GC (Link to this contribution) I am probing just to allow the Minister the opportunity to defend the necessity of giving these powe...
Lord Wedderburn of Charlton | 699 c104-5GC (Link to this contribution) moved Amendment No. 24: 24: After Clause 7, insert the following new Clause— ““Award of compensati...
Lord Wedderburn of Charlton | 699 c71GC (Link to this contribution) Was any objective evidence or survey put forward in these conversations to show that the ACAS decisi...
Lord Razzall | 699 c86GC (Link to this contribution) Perhaps I may intervene for the first time in the one hour and 40 minutes that we have spent on thre...
Lord Wedderburn of Charlton | 699 c81-4GC (Link to this contribution) moved Amendment No. 21: 21: After Clause 5, insert the following new Clause— ““Employment disputes...
Baroness Wilcox | 699 c113GC (Link to this contribution) I thank the Minister for that explanation. Is it possible when we meet again for him to give us evid...
Lord Watson of Invergowrie | 699 c106-7GC (Link to this contribution) I support the amendment. It is important to draw parallels between the clauses in the Bill, which ma...
Lord Wedderburn of Charlton | 699 c102GC (Link to this contribution) I said on a previous amendment that we have all heard of cases which get through the net of concilia...
Lord Henley | 699 c101-2GC (Link to this contribution) I offer my support to the amendment moved with such skill by my noble friend Lady Perry. I am sure t...
Baroness Perry of Southwark | 699 c104GC (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the Minister for the reassurance which my noble friend was seeking, and I thank my ...
Lord Brougham and Vaux | 699 c65GC (Link to this contribution) Good afternoon and welcome to the second day of Committee. As noble Lords know, the rules and regula...
Lord Wedderburn of Charlton | 699 c94GC (Link to this contribution) I take that to be a question—I was in a semi-recumbent position—but I agree with a lot of it. I thin...
Lord Borrie | 699 c94-7GC (Link to this contribution) moved Amendment No. 22: 22: After Clause 6, insert the following new Clause— ““Proceedings in publ...
Lord Jones of Birmingham | 699 c89-91GC (Link to this contribution) I have listened carefully to all the submissions and, first, I make a plea that we remove the alarmi...
Lord Wedderburn of Charlton | 699 c85-6GC (Link to this contribution) Would the noble Lord accept, first, that the James v Greenwich Council case concerned a dispute as t...
Baroness Turner of Camden | 699 c80-1GC (Link to this contribution) I thank the Minister for that response. I am glad at least that he accepts that it is absolutely nec...
Baroness Turner of Camden | 699 c84-5GC (Link to this contribution) During Second Reading, many noble Lords referred to the need to provide employment rights for agency...
Lord Jones of Birmingham | 699 c77GC (Link to this contribution) I can give the noble Lord, Lord Campbell, the assurance that he sought. Nothing being proposed will ...
Lord Campbell of Alloway | 699 c77GC (Link to this contribution) No, I have not. I am grateful that the Minister will deal with the problem I mentioned.
Lord Hunt of Wirral | 699 c78GC (Link to this contribution) I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. [Amendments Nos. 18 and 19 ...
Baroness Perry of Southwark | 699 c80GC (Link to this contribution) In the light of what the noble Lord, Lord Wedderburn, said, I ask whether ““within reasonable time””...
Lord Wedderburn of Charlton | 699 c73GC (Link to this contribution) Perhaps I may ask the Minister a simple question, which he may wish to answer after today. Did ACAS,...
Lord Jones of Birmingham | 699 c73-4GC (Link to this contribution) I do not know, but I shall find out and I shall come back to my noble friend. Michael Gibbons, in h...
Lord Campbell of Alloway | 699 c74-5GC (Link to this contribution) I wanted to hear what the Minister had to say before getting up and saying anything. From what littl...
Lord Brougham and Vaux | 699 c77GC (Link to this contribution) Does the noble Lord, Lord Campbell of Alloway, have anything further to say?
Lord Campbell of Alloway | 699 c76-7GC (Link to this contribution) There is no difference in principle at the root of our disagreement. I wholly accept the intendment ...
Lord Bach | 699 c114GC (Link to this contribution) The noble Baroness talks about us making this more convenient, but it is a ridiculous system where a...
Lord Bach | 699 c114GC (Link to this contribution) I think that this may be a convenient moment for the Committee to adjourn.
Baroness Wilcox | 699 c109-10GC (Link to this contribution) moved Amendment No. 24A: 24A: Clause 8, page 7, line 1, leave out subsection (8) The noble Barone...
Lord Wedderburn of Charlton | 699 c104GC (Link to this contribution) I put on record that I referred to the regulations of 2004: Regulation 18(7)(b) and (c). I shall not...
Baroness Turner of Camden | 699 c97GC (Link to this contribution) I support the amendment. My noble friends and I have something of a track record on whistleblowing. ...
Lord Wedderburn of Charlton | 699 c92-3GC (Link to this contribution) I ask the Committee to remember that the words about abuse, the use of economic power and the like, ...
Lord Jones of Birmingham | 699 c91-2GC (Link to this contribution) I remind the Committee that I was referring to the review that was undertaken. While undertaking tha...
Lord Watson of Invergowrie | 699 c87-9GC (Link to this contribution) I support the noble Lord, Lord Henley, on that point, although, I make clear, on nothing else that h...
Lord Henley | 699 c87GC (Link to this contribution) I do not accept that point. It is perfectly legitimate for us to discuss the matter in advance of th...
Lord Razzall | 699 c87GC (Link to this contribution) I make it clear that of course I was not suggesting that because the Prime Minister is discussing th...
Baroness Turner of Camden | 699 c78-9GC (Link to this contribution) moved Amendment No. 20: 20: After Clause 5, insert the following new Clause— ““Tribunal proceeding...
Lord Campbell of Alloway | 699 c79GC (Link to this contribution) I wholly accept the principle of the amendment but I am puzzled about the steps to be taken. What so...
Lord Wedderburn of Charlton | 699 c78GC (Link to this contribution) The noble Lord is very kind, and I promise to send him a much more extensive reading list than I men...
Lord Jones of Birmingham | 699 c79-80GC (Link to this contribution) I sympathise with the intention behind the amendment, but the results would not be workable in pract...
Lord Jones of Birmingham | 699 c72-3GC (Link to this contribution) I thank my noble friend Lord Wedderburn for that walk through the past 100 years of mediation legisl...
Lord Wedderburn of Charlton | 699 c74GC (Link to this contribution) Does the Minister remember that in the year that the Employment Tribunals Service carried out its in...
Lord Jones of Birmingham | 699 c74GC (Link to this contribution) I assure my noble friend that I am certainly on the side of 17 per cent. I am amazed that it is so l...
Lord Wedderburn of Charlton | 699 c76GC (Link to this contribution) When the noble Lord comes to rethink the amendment, will he again consider his remarks about the wor...
Lord Bach | 699 c113GC (Link to this contribution) Perhaps I may repeat myself for a moment. The power to copy information in Section 14(1) of the Nati...
Lord Razzall | 699 c105-6GC (Link to this contribution) I support the amendment of the noble Lord, Lord Wedderburn. He is entirely right that it raises conc...
Lord Bach | 699 c107GC (Link to this contribution) I thank my noble friend Lord Wedderburn for raising the issue. We know that the number of unpaid awa...
Lord Bach | 699 c107-9GC (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to my noble friend, but he will not be surprised to hear that my officials have alread...
Lord Wedderburn of Charlton | 699 c109GC (Link to this contribution) I thank all noble Lords who have spoken in the debate—the noble Lord, Lord Razzall, my noble friend ...
Baroness Wilcox | 699 c112GC (Link to this contribution) I thank the Minister for the time and trouble he has taken to respond to my question. The good news ...
Lord Bach | 699 c110-2GC (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the noble Baroness who has started our—brief, I hope—discussion of the national min...
Lord Jones of Birmingham | 699 c101GC (Link to this contribution) Surely, if my noble friend is looking for the sense of justice to which he has just referred and the...
Lord Borrie | 699 c100GC (Link to this contribution) First, I thank my noble friend Lady Turner of Camden for her support. That comes from extremely long...
Baroness Perry of Southwark | 699 c101GC (Link to this contribution) moved Amendment No. 23: 23: After Clause 6, insert the following new Clause— ““Restriction of friv...
Lord Borrie | 699 c101GC (Link to this contribution) It would not be helpful for me to pursue the matter further. I rest my case and beg leave to withdra...
Lord Jones of Birmingham | 699 c103-4GC (Link to this contribution) I am particularly grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Henley, for his observations on who started this ...
Lord Hunt of Wirral | 699 c65-7GC (Link to this contribution) moved Amendment No. 17: 17: Clause 5, page 4, line 21, at end insert— ““( ) In subsection (2), for...
Lord Wedderburn of Charlton | 699 c65GC (Link to this contribution) With leave, I wish to make a personal statement of apology to the Committee about the way in which t...
Lord Henley | 699 c71GC (Link to this contribution) I am talking at this stage more generally about mediation over the entire civil field. I cannot reca...
Lord Henley | 699 c70-1GC (Link to this contribution) I rise briefly to support my noble friend’s amendment. Like him, I declare an interest as I am also ...
Lord Borrie | 699 c67GC (Link to this contribution) I have a great deal of sympathy with what has been said by the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, and I admire t...
Lord Wedderburn of Charlton | 699 c67-70GC (Link to this contribution) With respect to the noble Lord who moved the amendment, two things must be made clear. I feel like s...
Baroness Wilcox | 699 c97-8GC (Link to this contribution) The noble Lord, Lord Borrie, does not do himself proud enough when he introduces this amendment. Ten...
Lord Jones of Birmingham | 699 c93-4GC (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to my noble friend Lord Wedderburn for making a plea for fairness in the workplace. We...
Lord Jones of Birmingham | 699 c98-9GC (Link to this contribution) Amendment No. 22 seeks publication of the papers in tribunal claims which have been determined, with...
Lord Campbell of Alloway | 699 c86GC (Link to this contribution) We are not in the Appellate Committee; I shall certainly not start a technical argument with the nob...
Lord Henley | 699 c86-7GC (Link to this contribution) It is a very interesting constitutional point that we cannot discuss anything until the Prime Minist...
Lord Campbell of Alloway | 699 c85GC (Link to this contribution) With the greatest respect to the noble Lord and the noble Baroness, I oppose the amendment. I accept...
Lord Hunt of Wirral | 699 c77GC (Link to this contribution) It was certainly well worth waiting for the Minister to speak again to hear him say clearly that the...
Lord Wedderburn of Charlton | 699 c79GC (Link to this contribution) I support my noble friend’s amendment but with one reservation. I may be unduly sensitive to this be...
Lord Hunt of Wirral | 699 c75-6GC (Link to this contribution) The responses of my noble friend Lord Henley and the Minister have been well worth waiting for. I wa...
Subjects
Disclosure of information Conditions of employment Compensation ACAS Employment Industrial disputes Health and safety Employment agencies Minimum wage Temporary employment Tribunals
Legislation
Employment Bill (HL) 2007-08
Link
View this Parliamentary proceeding on www.publications.parliament.uk