WITH surprisingly little fuss and publicity, some of the most radical changes in the history of employment law slipped quietly into the statute book on October 1.

There are 13 or so new laws which employers must now deal with.

First of all, there are now statutory procedures to be followed by the employer and the employee in disciplinary and dismissal cases and where the employee raises a grievance.

The consequences of getting things procedurally wrong are now increased.

An employer who fails to follow the statutory rules when dismissing an employee will be guilty of automatic unfair dismissal and will face an increase in the compensation of ten to 50 per cent.

Equally, however, an employee who simply resigns without bringing their grievance to their employer's attention in accordance with the new grievance procedure will be barred from claiming constructive dismissal.

Secondly, and of equal importance, a new Acas code of practice has been issued to take the new procedures into account.

Although the code is not law, it provides invaluable guidance on the operation of the new procedures, and an employer who fails to follow the code will be given short shrift by tribunals.

Speaking of tribunals, a new regime was also introduced on October 1.

All the forms have changed and they are now much more comprehensive and detailed.

The ethos behind the rules is very clearly to get the parties to deal with proceedings quickly.

There are new powers for the tribunal to require a case management discussion to deal with procedural matter and even to decide certain types of cases without bothering with a hearing at all.

The power of the tribunal to award costs has also been increased.

Various important changes have also been made to the rules on disability discrimination.

Harassment on the ground of disability is now expressly prohibited, and the "small employer exception", which meant that those businesses employing fewer than 15 staff were exempt, has been removed.

* Stephen Elliott is a solicitor in the employment team of North-East law firm Ward Hadaway. He can be contacted on 0191-204 4000 or by email at stephen.elliott@wardhadaway.com

Published: 20/19/2004