The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 (Commencement No. 2) Order 2013 (SI 1648/2013) has been published. The Order brings the following provisions of the Act into force from 29 July 2013: (i) S.14 – confidentiality of negotiations before termination of employment, which provides that, other than in specified circumstances, an offer to terminate the employment relationship on agreed terms is not admissible as evidence in any subsequent unfair dismissal case; and (ii) S.23 which renames “compromise agreements”, “compromise contracts” and “compromises” as “settlement agreements” in all relevant pieces of employment legislation. Acas has produced a Code of Practice on Settlement Agreements (published initially to accompany the Acas response to consultation), which sets out the broad principles covering the use of settlement agreements to accompany the legislation on pre-termination negotiations.
This provides summary information and comment on the subject areas covered. Where employment tribunal and appellate court cases are reported, the information does not set out all of the facts, the legal arguments presented and the judgments made in every aspect of the case. Employment law is subject to constant change either by statute or by interpretation by the courts. While every care has been taken in compiling this information, we cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. Specialist legal advice must be taken on any legal issues that may arise before embarking upon any formal course of action.
