A LAW to amend further the Employment (Jersey) Law 2003.

THE STATES, subject to the sanction of Her Most Excellent Majesty in Council, have adopted the following Law –

“PART 7a

DISCIPLINARY AND GRIEVANCE HEARINGS

78A   Right to be represented

((1)    This Article applies where –

(a)     an employer requires or requests an employee to attend a disciplinary or grievance hearing; and

(b)     the employee tells the employer that he or she wishes to be represented at the hearing.

(2)     Where this Article applies, the employer must permit the employee to be represented at the hearing by one representative chosen by the employee who is –

(a)     an employee or an official of a trade union; or

(b)     another employee of the employer,

if the location of the proposed representative at the time of the request does not make the request unreasonable.

(3)     The employer must permit the employee’s representative –

(a)     to address the hearing so as to put the employee’s case, to sum up that case and to respond on the employee’s behalf to any view expressed at the hearing; and

(b)     to confer with the employee during the hearing.

(4)     However, paragraph (3) does not require the employer to permit the employee’s representative –

(a)     to answer questions on behalf of the employee;

(b)     to address the hearing if, at the hearing, the employee indicates that he or she does not wish the representative to do so; or

(c)     to use the powers conferred by that paragraph in a way that prevents the employer from explaining his or her case or prevents any other person at the hearing from making a contribution to it.

(5)     If –

(a)     an employee has a right under this Article to be represented at a hearing;

(b)     the employee’s chosen representative will not be available at the time proposed for the hearing by the employer; and

(c)     the employee proposes an alternative time within the 5 working days immediately after the day proposed by the employer that is reasonable for both parties,

the employer must postpone the hearing to the time proposed by the employee.

(6)     Where the employee’s chosen representative is another employee of the employer –

(a)     the employer must permit the representative to take a reasonable amount of time off during working hours, without loss of pay, to prepare for the hearing and to represent the employee at the hearing; and

(b)     any activities of the representative undertaken in accordance with this Article shall be taken to be activities of a trade union to which Article 65(1)(b) applies.

(7)     In this Article –

“disciplinary hearing” means a hearing that could result in –

(a)     the administration of a formal written warning to an employee by his or her employer;

(b)     the taking of some other formal disciplinary action in respect of an employee by his or her employer; or

(c)     the confirmation of a warning administered under paragraph (a) or the confirmation of any other disciplinary action taken under paragraph (b);

“grievance hearing” means a hearing that concerns the performance of a duty by an employer in relation to an employee;

“trade union” means a trade union registered in accordance with the Employment Relations (Jersey) Law 2007[2];

“working day” means a business day as defined by the Public Holidays and Bank Holidays (Jersey) Law 1951[3].

78B   Complaints to Tribunal

(1)     An employee may present a complaint to the Tribunal that his or her employer has failed, or threatened to fail, to comply with Article 78A(2), (3) or (5).

(2)     The Tribunal shall not consider such a complaint unless it is presented within –

(a)     the 8 weeks immediately following the failure or threat; or

(b)     such further period as the Tribunal may, in the interests of justice, consider reasonable.

(3)     If the Tribunal finds that a complaint under this Article is well-founded it must –

(a)     order the employer to pay compensation to the employee of an amount not exceeding 4 weeks’ pay; and

(b)     declare that any action taken against the employee by the employer, other than the dismissal of the employee, is void.”.

“(1)    An employee must be given by his or her employer, at or before the time at which any payment of wages is made to the employee, a written itemised pay statement.”.