HC Deb 28 July 1998 vol 317 cc270-1

Lords amendment: No. 17, in page 14, line 21, at end insert— ("(9) The powers of an employment tribunal in allowing an appeal in a case where subsection (8) above applies shall include power to rectify, as the tribunal may consider appropriate in consequence of its decision on the appeal, any penalty notice which has been served under section 21 below in respect of the enforcement notice. (10) Where a penalty notice is rectified under subsection (9) above, it shall have effect as if it had originally been served as so rectified.")

Mr. Ian McCartney

I beg to move, That this House does agree with the Lords in the said amendment.

The purpose is to cut unnecessary red tape, and to prevent enforcement from being weakened in a particular area. Currently, under clause 19(8), an employment tribunal has the power to correct an enforcement notice on appeal, for example if the officer got the amount of the national minimum wage underpayment wrong but an underpayment nevertheless remained due.

The tribunal may also correct the subsequent penalty notice, which can be issued pending an appeal against the enforcement notice under clause 22(5). There is a technical difficulty—without the amendment, the tribunal would have the power to correct the penalty notice only if a separate appeal against it had been lodged. Therefore, an employer would have to ensure that he made two appeals, on a just-in-case basis, against both the enforcement notice and the penalty notice.

The amendment would cut red tape by providing that, when an appeal against the enforcement notice was partially successful and the notice was corrected by the tribunal, the tribunal would have the power to correct the penalty notice accordingly, even in the absence of an appeal against the penalty notice. I hope that hon. Members will accept that the amendment is about ensuring—

It being Ten o'clock, the debate stood adjourned.