Citation and commencement

1.-(1) This Order may be cited as the Employment Protection (Increase of Limits) Order 1995 and shall come into force at the end of the period of two months beginning with the day on which it is made.

Revocation

2. Subject to article 4, the following Orders are revoked:-

• The Employment Protection (Variation of Limits) Order 1992(11);

• The Unfair Dismissal (Increase of Limits of Basic and Special Awards) Order 1992(12); and

• The Unfair Dismissal (Increase of Compensation Limit) Order 1993(13).

Increase of limits

3. Subject to article 4, the limits referred to in columns 1 and 2 of the Table in the Schedule to this Order are increased by the substitution of the new figure in column 3 for the old figure in column 4.

Supplementary and Transitional provisions

4.-(1) The increases specified in article 3 shall have effect where the appropriate date falls on or after the date this Order comes into force.

(2) Notwithstanding the revocation of each of the Orders in article 2, the limits set by or, as the case may be, preserved by articles 2 and 3 in each of those Orders shall continue to have effect where the appropriate date falls before the date this Order comes into force.

(3) In this article "the appropriate date" means-

(a)in the case of a guarantee payment, a day in respect of which an employee is entitled to a guarantee payment under section 12 of the 1978 Act;

(b)in the case of a complaint presented under section 67 of the 1978 Act (a complaint of unfair dismissal) for the purposes of calculating the basic award, compensatory award or special award (under section 72(14) of that Act) and any special award under section 157 of the 1992 Act, the effective date of termination;

(c)in the case of an award under section 71(1)(15) of the 1978 Act, the date by which the order of reinstatement (specified under section 69(2)(c) of that Act) or, as the case may be, re-engagement (as specified under section 69(4)(f) of that Act) must be complied with;

(d)in the case of an additional award of compensation (under section 71(2)(b) of the 1978 Act(16) where an employer has failed to comply with an order of reinstatement or re-engagement, the date specified under section 69(2)(c) or, as the case may be, section 69(4)(f) of that Act, by which the order must be complied with;

(e)in the case of entitlement to a redundancy payment by virtue of section 81(1)(a) of the 1978 Act, the relevant date (as defined by section 90(1) or 90(3) of that Act);

(f)in the case of entitlement to a redundancy payment by virtue of section 81(1)(b) of the 1978 Act (lay off or a keeping on short time), the relevant date (as defined by section 90(2) of that Act);

(g)in the case of a complaint presented under section 124 of the 1978 Act(17), the relevant date (as defined by section 122(2) of that Act(18));

(h)in the case of a complaint presented under section 66 of the 1992 Act(19) (unjustifiable discipline by a trade union), the date of the determination which constitutes an infringement of the claimant's right;

(i)in the case of a complaint presented under section 137(2) of the 1992 Act (refusal of employment on grounds related to union membership) or section 138(2) of that Act (refusal of service of employment agency on grounds related to union membership), the date of the conduct (as determined by section 139 of that Act) to which the complaint relates; and

(j)in the case of a complaint presented under section 174 of the 1992 Act(20) (exclusion or expulsion from a trade union), the date of the exclusion or expulsion from membership of the trade union.

(3) In this article "effective date of termination" has the same meaning as in section 55(4) of the 1978 Act except in a case in which section 55(5) or (6)(21) of that Act would have the effect of treating a later date as the effective date of termination, in which case the later date shall be the effective date for the purposes of this article.

[Article 3]

SCHEDULETable of Increase of Limits

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order, which comes into force two months after it is made, increases certain of the limits which are required to be reviewed annually by the Secretary of State under section 148 of the Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978 ("the 1978 Act"). It also raises the limits found in sections 75 and 75A of the 1978 Act and sections 156 and 158 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 ("the 1992 Act").

The limit of the amount of guarantee payment set out in section 15(1) of the 1978 Act in respect of any day is increased from £14.10 to £14.50.

The limit of the amount for the purpose of calculating the sum payable by the Secretary of State under section 122 of the 1978 Act in respect of the debt due to an employee whose employer becomes insolvent is increased from £205 to £210.

The limits of the amount of "a weeks's pay" for the purposes of calculating redundancy payments and the basic and additional awards of compensation on a complaint of unfair dismissal are increased from £205 to £210.

The increase in the amount of "a week's pay" is also one of the constituents of the limit applied by section 67(8) of the 1992 Act to compensation on a complaint of unjustifiable discipline by a trade union, and under section 174(6) in respect of a complaint of exclusion or expulsion from a trade union.

The limit of the amount of compensation which can be awarded by an industrial tribunal in claims for unfair dismissal as the compensatory award or as compensation for failure fully to comply with the terms of an order of reinstatement or re-engagement is raised to £11,300. This increase also affects the maximum amount of compensation that may be awarded under section 67 of the 1992 Act on a complaint of unjustifiable discipline by a trade union; under section 140 of that Act on a complaint of refusal of employment or refusal of service of employment agency on grounds related to trade union membership; and under section 176 of that Act on a complaint of exclusion or expulsion from a trade union.

The Order also increases from £2,700 to £2,770 the minimum basic award and increases the limits of £13,400, £26,800 and £20,100 to £13,775, £27,500 and £20,600 respectively, applicable in calculating special awards on a complaint of unfair dismissal on trade union grounds (section 152 of the 1992 Act) and health and safety grounds (section 57A of the 1978 Act).

The Order contains transitional provisions.