I thank my noble friend for that reply and I very much welcome the work that has been and is being done with ACAS and others to address this challenge. I hope that proposals for change will quickly be developed. The waiting period for employment tribunal hearings is clearly unacceptably high; it is …
Can the Minister assure me that enforcement of awards will be taken firmly into consideration in developing new proposals to overhaul the whole system?
In answering, I thank my noble friend for all the work he has done in this area; he probably understands more than anyone just how important it is to bring parties together. He raises absolutely critical points. We have to bring benefit from collaboration, and I think we have the right building bloc…
My Lords, I thank the noble and learned Lord for an opportunity to reflect on this debate. Nearly 250 Members have spoken in the debate, not the minority that have been spoken about. I remind the House that I am a past president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and a fellow of three other royal…
My Lords, I put down one amendment and did not speak to it. I do not like the Bill—everyone knows that—but I was working, and trying very hard, to get it to Third Reading. I am grateful to the noble and learned Lord, Lord Falconer, for recognising that. I want to say to your Lordships something abou…
My Lords, in so far as this Bill rectifies an anomaly, it is to be welcomed. I very much endorse what others have said: of course Ministers should be paid. It has been a disgrace that Ministers, particularly in the Lords, have given sterling service without remuneration. I take that as given and I e…
My Lords, I will make two points. The first relates to Motion B and the removal of the arbitrary statutory limit on compensation. My noble friend the Minister mentioned the tribunal statistics for 2023-24, published by the Government, and the fact that the median award for unfair dismissal was £6,74…
My Lords, I also support these amendments on the right of asylum seekers to work, and in particular Amendment 45, which makes the eminently reasonable proposal for there to be opportunities to review the evidence, if necessary year on year, on the impact of the current policy and the case for an alt…
My Lords, on 6 May 2006, just prior to the Bill to legitimise assisted dying coming before Parliament, the late Chief Rabbi, Lord Sacks, published an op-ed entitled, The Jewish T radition is F irmly O pposed to A ssisted D ying . I quote its final paragraph:
“Those who propose the current Bill do s…
My Lords, this is an issue with a long history. In 1909 the Osborne judgment ruled that trade unions could not legally use their general funds for political purposes. Subsequently, the Trade Union Act 1913 was passed by the Liberal Government led by HH Asquith to allow trade unions to establish and …
Do shareholders get an opt-out facility from political donations that the company is making on behalf of the owners of the company?
Will the noble Baroness permit an intervention? As my noble friend Lord Prentis mentioned, there are 48 unions affiliated to the TUC; 13 of them also affiliate, subscribe and contribute to the funding of the Labour Party, and 35 do not. Most of those 35 have a political fund which they use to suppor…
My Lords, I have Amendment 322 in this group, which requires the Secretary of State, after the establishment of the new arrangements to deliver fair pay in the social care sector, to set out a timetable and process for an assessment of whether this approach could deliver similar benefits in tackling…
My Lords, I oppose Amendments 132 and 137. Both of them seek to expand the list of organisations recognised in law to represent workers. Amendment 132 relates to representation in reaching settlement agreements, while Amendment 137 refers to representation in hearings at workplace disciplinary and g…
The noble Lord pointed to the daunting process that faces an employer potentially facing an employment tribunal accusation that would damage perhaps their reputation, as well as the daunting issues that also face the employee who is considering going down that course. My noble friend made some empha…
Thirty-four million workers. Five and a half thousand cases. Why is the number so small? It has been suggested that it is because an employer’s immediate response is to offer a settlement to buy off the prospect of a tribunal. Some may make that judgement, but, given the evidence my noble friend has…