Dare you dismiss an employee ?
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The enormous change in the law governing the dismissal of employees is insufficiently understood by transport operators. If an employee is dismissed, it is now highly likely that the employer will face a heavy fine. That is not the language used in the Act of Parliament, where it is described as compensation for unfair dismissal.
Such language may be thought to be not unreasonable and fairly innocuous. If an employee is unfairly dismissed, it is right, you may say, that he should be compensated. But the problems that arise are; what is the definition of "unfair"? What is the procedure for working it out? Who is going to decide it? Since the start of proceedings under the Industrial Relations Act in 1971, it has become quite clear that the employer is in for a rough and expensive time.
Let us pinpoint those responsible. It was the Conservatives who introduced the concept of "unfair dismissals" and brought the matter to the Statute Book as part of their highly controversial Industrial Relations Act. The main policy objective of the Heath Government was to bring the trade unions within the scope of the law. The Act provided for the proper registration of trade unions, for the close vetting of their constitutions and internal arrangements, for the notification of trade agreements reached, coupled with provisions for their legal enforcement. There is no doubt that the Conservative Party expected a degree of opposition to these schemes, but as we all know, the hostility turned out to be fierce and savage.
The then Government thought to soften these stern measures by offering a number of sweeteners, the most important of which was to establish a scheme to compensate those workers who were "unfairly dismissed." It shows how gen erous the Government can be with other peoples money if it is observed that this was not something which the Government was going to pay, because the employer was left to foot the bill. In view of the headlines and great controversy which arose, both during the course of the Bill through Parliament and afterwards, over the main issue of controls on the trade unions, little attention was given at the time to the unfair dismissals. This sweatmeat certainly did nothing to moderate the opposition of the unions, but it has given their members a wonderful bonanza subsequently.
As we know, when the Labour Party came to power with the general election of 1974, they quickly passed legislation to repeal the schemes which the Conservatives had offered, particularly the arrangements for compensation for dismissals.
A lot of development of the dismissals scheme has taken place since 1974. The burden on employers is now enormous, with only limited opportunities for complete escape, and then only at considerable expense. Over the next few weeks I propose to explain some of the complexities of the legislation, provide a picture of how the system works and show the procedures which an employer faces if he appears before a tribunal in a dismissals case.