new Mimimum Wage and unfair dismissal
new National Minimum Wage rates announced for October 2010
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has announced
that it is accepting the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission
(LPC) on the new rates of the National Minimum Wage. The new rates
will come into force on 1 October 2010 and will be:
£5.93 per hour for those over 21 (adult rate)
£4.92 per hour for 18-20 year olds (development rate)
£3.64 per hour for 16-17 year-olds
The adult rate, which currently applies to those who are 22 and
over, is to extend to workers aged 21 from October.
The Government has also accepted a recommendation by the LPC
that a minimum wage for apprentices should be introduced for those
who are currently exempt from the NMW. The new apprentice rate,
also to be introduced on 1 October, is to be set at £2.50 per hour.
It will apply to apprentices who are under 19 or those aged 19 and
over who are in their first year of apprenticeship.
unfair dismissal: using informal procedure inconsistent with
gross misconduct dismissal
The Court of Appeal has accepted that an employee who agreed to
go through an informal misconduct procedure, but was subsequently
summarily dismissed for gross misconduct under a formal
disciplinary procedure, was unfairly dismissed.
An NHS Trust received complaints of bullying and harassment
about a Consultant Psychiatrist, Dr Sarkar. With his agreement, the
Trust used its 'Fair Blame' policy, where a member of staff
accepted that they had done something wrong, but only for minor
offences meriting no more than a first written warning. The formal
disciplinary policy could be used if the misconduct turned out to
be more serious. This informal process continued until Dr Sarkar
was told that his behaviour would be reported to the General
Medical Council (GMC). Dr Sarkar, who sat on the GMC's Fitness to
Practise Panel, would not accept this and the process broke down. A
formal disciplinary process ensued concerning the original
allegations and three other incidents. Dr Sarkar was dismissed for
gross misconduct and claimed unfair dismissal.
The Court of Appeal accepted the Employment Tribunal's decision
that the dismissal was outside the range of reasonable responses.
The Trust's use of the Fair Blame policy, which could not result in
dismissal, was inconsistent with its subsequent finding of and
dismissal for gross misconduct. The informal procedure had ended
because of the late suggestion of a report to the GMC rather than
any other reason. The matters considered in the formal disciplinary
procedure were essentially the same as those considered informally,
apart from the three other incidents, which in the circumstances
the Employment Tribunal was entitled to find were relatively
minor.
point to note
This case highlights the importance of properly categorising
misconduct early on, and ensuring there is justification if it is
subsequently viewed as more serious.
