21 February 2007
The Employment Forum is recommending further changes to the Island’s employment legislation following public consultation.
The Forum presented the Social Security Minister, Senator Paul Routier, with its recommendations to introduce legislation that will:
- Give employees the right to receive a compensatory payment from their employer in the event of being made redundant, and
- Protect employees’ terms and conditions of employment when they are transferred to a new employer in a business takeover or sale.
The full recommendation includes further details, including the criteria by which employees would qualify for the new rights, the consultation requirements and obligations of employers in redundancy and business transfer situations, and the awards that would be made to employees where an employer has not met the requirements of the recommended legislation.
The Employment Forum is an independent consultative body which makes recommendations to the Social Security Minister, based on views received during consultation with the public. Consultation on these two issues closed in August last year and the Forum has since considered the very detailed responses that were received. In all, 24 responses were received from a wide range of individuals and organisations.
Mrs Sally Johnson, who was Acting Chair of the Forum during the preparation of the recommendations, said: “This has been a huge project for the Forum and it has taken us a considerable amount of time to give our full consideration to the implications of new legislation on these issues, and to the pitfalls of such legislation in other countries.”
The issues of redundancy and business transfers were the first two issues to be considered by the Forum in the further development of Jersey’s employment legislation programme. A two phased approach was approved by the States in 2000 (P.99/2000). Consultations planned to be undertaken by the Forum over the next two years will seek views on maternity, equal opportunities, flexible working and family friendly policies.
Senator Routier said, “I appreciate the huge amount of work which has gone into the Forum’s recommendations on these two very complex issues and I will be giving the detailed recommendations my full consideration over next few weeks. I will meet representatives of the Forum with my Assistant Minister in March to discuss the report in more detail. Then I will be in the position to make my response to the Forum’s recommendations.”
Subject to the Minister’s response, the Forum’s recommendations will form part of a law drafting brief as a first step to introducing any necessary legislation.
To receive a copy of this recommendation, or to be included on the Forum’s database for future consultation, please contact the Secretary to the Forum at K.Morel@gov.je, or telephone 447204.
Consultations
gov.je