Industrial Tribunals (now known as Employment Tribunals) Act 1996
| Year | 1996 |
Industrial Tribunals Act 1996
1996 CHAPTER 17
An Act to consolidate enactments relating to industrial tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal.
[22nd May 1996]
B e it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—We welcome your
Part I
Industrial Tribunals
Introductory
1 Industrial tribunals.
(1) The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision for the establishment of tribunals to be known as industrial tribunals.
(2) Regulations made wholly or partly under section 128(1) of the Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978 and in force immediately before this Act comes into force shall, so far as made under that provision, continue to have effect (until revoked) as if made under subsection (1) and the tribunals established in pursuance of such regulations shall continue to be known as industrial tribunals. Jurisdiction
2 Enactments conferring jurisdiction on industrial tribunals.
Industrial tribunals shall exercise the jurisdiction conferred on them by or by virtue of this Act or any other Act, whether passed before or after this Act.
3 Power to confer further jurisdiction on industrial tribunals.
(1) The appropriate Minister may by order provide that proceedings in respect of—
(a) any claim to which this section applies, or
(b) any claim to which this section applies and which is of a description specified in the order,
may, subject to such exceptions (if any) as may be so specified, be brought before an industrial tribunal.
(2) Subject to subsection (3), this section applies to—
(a) a claim for damages for breach of a contract of employment or other contract connected with employment,
(b) a claim for a sum due under such a contract, and
(c) a claim for the recovery of a sum in pursuance of any enactment relating to the terms or performance of such a contract,
if the claim is such that a court in England and Wales or Scotland would under the law for the time being in force have jurisdiction to hear and determine an action in respect of the claim.
(3) This section does not apply to a claim for damages, or for a sum due, in respect of personal injuries.
(4) Any jurisdiction conferred on an industrial tribunal by virtue of this section in respect of any claim is exercisable concurrently with any court in England and Wales or in Scotland whic h has jurisdiction to hear and determine an action in respect of the claim.
(5) In this section—
‘appropriate Minister’, as respects a claim in respect of which an action could be heard and determined by a court in England and Wales, means the Lord Chancellor and, as respects a claim in respect of which an action could be heard and determined by a court in Scotland, means the Lord Advocate, and
‘personal injuries’ includes any disease and any impairment of a person's physical or mental condition.
(6) In this section a reference to breach of a contract includes a reference to breach of—
(a) a term implied in a contract by or under any enactment or otherwise,
(b) a term of a contract as modified by or under any enactment or otherwise, and
(c) a term which, although not contained in a contract, is incorporated in the contract by another term of the contract. Membership etc.
4 Composition of a tribunal.
(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, proceedings before an industrial tribunal shall be heard by—
(a) the person who, in accordance with regulations made under section 1(1), is the chairman, and
(b) two other members, or (with the consent of the parties) one other member, selected as the other members (or member) in accordance with regulations so made.
(2) Subject to subsection (5), the proceedings specified in subsection (3) shall be heard by the person mentioned in subsection (1)(a) alone.
(3) The proceedings referred to in subsection (2) are—
(a) proceedings on an application under section 161, 165 or 166 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 ,
(b) proceedings on a complaint under section 126 of the Pension Schemes Act 1993 ,
(c) proceedings on a complaint under section 23 or 188 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 or on an application under section 128, 131 or 132 of that Act,
(d) proceedings in respect of which an industrial tribunal has jurisdiction by virtue of section 3 of this Act,
(e) proceedings in which the parties have given their written consent to the proceedings being heard in accordance with subsection (2) (whether or not they have subsequently withdrawn it),
(f) proceedings in which the person bringing the proceedings has given written notice withdrawing the case, and
(g) proceedings in which the person (or, where more than one, each of the persons) against whom the proceedings are brought does not, or has ceased to, contest the case.
(4) The Secretary of State may by order amend the provisions of subsection (3).
(5) Proceedings specified in subsection (3) shall be heard in accordance with subsection (1) if a person who, in accordance with regulations made under section 1(1), may be the chairman of an industrial tribunal, having regard to—
(a) whether there is a likelihood of a dispute arising on the facts which makes it desirable for the proceedings to be heard in accordance with subsection (1),
(b) whether there is a likelihood of an issue of law arising which would make it desirable for the proceedings to be heard in accordance with subsection (2),
(c) any views of any of the parties as to whether or not the proceedings ought to be heard in accordance with either of those subsections, and
(d) whether there are other proceedings which might be heard concurrently but which are not proceedings specified in subsection (3),
decides at any stage of the proceedings that the proceedings are to be heard in accordance with subsection (1).
(6) Where (in accordance with the following provisions of this Part) the Secretary of State makes industrial tribunal procedure regulations, the regulations may provide that, in such circumstances as the regulations may specify, any act required or authorised by the regulations to be done by an industrial tribunal may be done by the person mentioned in subsection (1)(a) alone.
(7) Where a Minister of the Crown so directs in relation to any proceedings on grounds of national security—
(a) the proceedings shall be heard and determined, and
(b) any act required or authorised by industrial tribunal procedure regulations to be done by an industrial tribunal in relation to the proceedings shall be done,
by the President of the Industrial Tribunals (England and Wales) appointed in accordance with regulations made under section 1(1), or by the President of the Industrial Tribunals (Scotland) so appointed, alone.
5 Remuneration, fees and allowances.
(1) The Secretary of State may pay to—
(a) the President of the Industrial Tribunals (England and Wales),
(b) the President of the Industrial Tribunals (Scotland), and
(c) any person who is a member on a full-time basis of a panel of chairmen of tribunals which is appointed in accordance with regulations made under section 1(1),
such remuneration as he may with the consent of the Treasury determine.
(2) The Secretary of State may pay to—
(a) members of industrial tribunals,
(b) any assessors appointed for the purposes of proceedings before industrial tribunals, and
(c) any persons required for the purposes of section 2A(l)(b) of the Equal Pay Act 1970 to prepare reports,
such fees and...
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