Consolidation meaning

The early conciliation (EC) requirement The early conciliation (EC) requirement—sometimes referred to as mandatory Acas early conciliation—obliges a would‑be claimant to give Acas specified details, including certain information, before issuing an employment tribunal claim, as provided by section 18A(1) of the Employment Tribunals Act 1996 (ETA 1996). For more detail, see Practice Note: The early conciliation requirement. This Checklist explains which claims constitute ‘relevant proceedings’, and identifies those that are caught by the early conciliation requirement either because of: ETA 1996, s 18(1A), or a specific provision in the applicable legislation For guidance on relevant proceedings, see Practice Note: The early conciliation requirement—Relevant proceedings. Where a prospective claimant satisfies the early conciliation requirement, there is, in almost all cases, a statutory extension to the usual deadline within which a claim must be presented to an employment tribunal. This Checklist also indicates where the operative extension provisions on time limits are located, and highlights categories of proceedings to which those extension provisions...

Contracting-out provisions Most claims pursued in the employment tribunal arise from a jurisdiction conferred by statutory measures. Each such statutory scheme typically includes a clause preventing the parties (or prospective parties) to a tribunal dispute from concluding an arrangement that purports to settle the claim and, by doing so, purports to displace the employment tribunal’s authority to decide the dispute. These clauses are commonly known as 'contracting-out provisions', and they appear, in broadly similar terms, across a wide range of employment legislation, eg the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996), the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULR(C)A 1992) and the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010). The aim of these provisions is to protect claimants (or potential claimants) by ensuring they do not sign away the right to commence or continue a claim without appropriate safeguards being observed. The fundamental position is that any agreement reached between persons which purports to stop an individual from making, or proceeding with, a claim to an employment tribunal is void...

Contracting-out provisions Most claims that can be taken to the employment tribunal stem from jurisdiction granted by statutory provisions. Each such statutory scheme contains a term that prevents the parties (or would-be parties) to an employment tribunal claim from entering an agreement that purports to settle the claim and, in doing so, purports to exclude the tribunal's jurisdiction to determine the dispute. These terms are commonly described as 'contracting-out provisions', and they appear in broadly similar form across a wide range of employment legislation, eg the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996), Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULR(C)A 1992) and the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010). They are intended to safeguard claimants (and potential claimants) by stopping them from signing away the right to bring or pursue a claim unless appropriate procedural safeguards have been met. The fundamental rule is that any agreement reached between persons that purports to stop a person from making, or continuing with, a claim to an employment tribunal is void to...

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This Flowchart explains what the requirements are for industrial action to qualify for statutory immunity under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULR(C)A 1992), as amended by the Employment Rights Act 2025 English law confers no positive entitlement to organise or take part in industrial action. As a matter of common law, such action is ordinarily unlawful. A trade union that calls industrial action will typically commit one or more of the so‑called economic or industrial torts. Individuals who join the action will frequently breach their contracts of employment. Statute nevertheless intervenes to grant a union immunity from tortious liability when organising industrial action, but that protection is bounded by substantial and intricate statutory requirements. Industrial action that satisfies those requirements is treated as protected. Where statutory immunity does not arise, or is lost, the action is unprotected. The ramifications for a union of initiating industrial action that lacks statutory immunity can be significant, with the possibility of damages being awarded against it and/or...

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In this issue Working time and flexible working Pay Tax Prohibited conduct (discrimination etc) Employment tribunal equality claims Diversity and gender pay gap Industrial action Unfair dismissal Employment tribunals Immigration Northern Ireland ESG and sustainability: employment issues Daily and weekly news alerts Dates for your diary Trackers New Q&As Working time and flexible working Code of Practice (Requests for Flexible Working) Order 2024 (SI 2024/429): The Order designates 6 April 2024 as the date on which the updated Code of Practice on handling requests for flexible working, issued by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) under section 199 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULR(C)A 1992), takes effect. It also clarifies that the revised Code does not cover applications for flexible working made under section 80F of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996) that are lodged on or before 5 April 2024;...

In this issue: Criminal procedure and evidence Bribery, corruption, sanctions and export controls Consumer protection and cartels Cybercrime and data protection offences Environmental offences Financial services and pensions offences Fraud, forgery, tax and theft offences Health and safety and corporate manslaughter offences Insolvency offences and Companies Act offences Local authority prosecutions Money laundering Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Criminal procedure and evidence Email caution offers a rare glimpse into SFO record-keeping. Disclosures show a Serious Fraud Office (SFO) official urged investigators to avoid setting out case concerns in emails, highlighting how grinding disclosure disputes shaped the agency’s approach while it was under intense scrutiny over its evidence practices. See News Analysis: Email warning provides rare sight into SFO record-keeping... Bribery, corruption, sanctions and export controls FCDO issues guidance on consolidating UK sanctions lists by January...

The team behind arbitrateAD The registry Kristin Campbell-Wilson has now taken up the role of executive director at the newly established Abu Dhabi International Arbitration Centre. Bringing more than twenty years’ international arbitration expertise, she most recently served at the SCC Arbitration Institute, first as deputy secretary general and subsequently as secretary general. Her selection clearly underscores arbitrateAD’s strong focus on streamlined case administration in practice. It likewise marks a positive step for gender balance within the sector. The court The arbitrateAD Court (the Court) exercises oversight of arbitrations conducted under the arbitrateAD Rules. Under the arbitrateAD Rules, the Court is charged with appointing arbitrators, deciding challenges to arbitrators, and scrutinising arbitral awards, among other duties and responsibilities. The Court comprises 15 leading international arbitration practitioners, with women accounting for nearly half. This varied bench has wide geographic reach, with members based across 11 jurisdictions. They include five figures from the Middle East region, four originating from the UAE, plus ten others spanning Africa, Europe, Asia...

The Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006) provides comprehensive rules governing how a company prepares its annual accounts. Through the Limited Liability Partnerships (Accounts and Audit) (Application of Companies Act 2006) Regulations 2008, SI 2008/1911 (the 2008 Regulations), selected elements are extended to limited liability partnerships (LLPs), with suitable adaptations. The Limited Liability Partnerships, Partnerships and Groups (Accounts and Audit) Regulations 2016, SI 2016/575 (the 2016 Regulations) introduced a range of amendments to the accounting framework for LLPs and qualifying partnerships. Further alterations affecting LLPs and other bodies were made by the Statutory Auditors Regulations 2017, SI 2017/1164. In most cases, the changes take effect for LLPs with financial years commencing on or after 17 June 2016; however, the stricter conditions on the small LLPs’ exemption from preparing group accounts apply to periods starting on or after 1 January 2017. This Practice Note, read alongside Practice Note: LLP Accounts—an outline of the statutory framework, distils the key obligations contained within these statutory provisions...

This Practice Note offers an overview of industrial action, covering what it is, picketing, the right to take industrial action, unlawful forms of industrial action, balloting for, and employer notification of, industrial action, and trade union liability. It also provides guidance on industrial action for employers and for employees. What is industrial action? Industrial action occurs when workers act together (ie collectively) against their employer because of a workplace dispute. It may take the form of a strike—which section 246 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULR(C)A 1992) generally defines as ‘any concerted stoppage of work’—but can also involve measures short of a total stoppage, such as: a ‘go-slow’ (ie workers take longer than usual to finish tasks) work-to-rule (ie workers do only what their contract requires and no more) an overtime ban (ie no overtime is worked) a call-out ban (ie workers refuse requests to work outside scheduled hours) Industrial action sits at the...

This Practice Note builds on the guidance in Practice Note: Road traffic—traffic regulation order procedure and notices. It sets out which amendments to earlier road traffic orders can be folded into a consolidation or minor order, outlines why making such an order can be beneficial, and cross-refers to the Local Authorities’ Traffic Orders (Procedure) (England and Wales) Regulations 1996 (the Traffic Orders Regs 1996), SI 1996/2489. It also clarifies that an experimental traffic order (ETO) operates as a trial scheme for traffic control, and summarises the publicity and objections regime that governs it. Consolidation and minor orders A road traffic order that simply gathers previous traffic orders into a single instrument should not attract controversy, as it, by definition, leaves the street’s traffic position materially unchanged. Accordingly, regulation 21 of the Traffic Orders Regs 1996, SI 1996/2489, allows a lighter-touch approach to the publicity required for consolidation orders. That more flexible treatment also applies to orders that do alter the on-street regime, provided any alteration is only minor...

This Deed is made on [ insert day and month ] 20[ insert year ] Parties [ Insert name of Chargor ], being a company incorporated in England and Wales, with registered number [ insert company number ], and whose registered office is at [ insert address ] (the “ Chargor ”); and 1 [ Insert name of Security Agent ], acting as security agent and trustee for the Finance Parties pursuant to the terms and conditions set out in the [ Facilities Agreement OR Intercreditor Agreement OR Security Trust Deed ] (the “ Security Agent ”). Recitals: (A) The Finance Parties have consented to provide loan facilities subject to the terms and conditions set out in the Facilities Agreement (as defined below). (B) As a condition precedent to the loan facilities becoming available, the Chargor must execute this Deed for the purpose of granting security in favour of the Security Agent in relation to the Secured Obligations (as defined below)...

Insert in para 6.1 of response form ET3: It is [ accepted OR not accepted OR denied ] that the Claimant was employed by the Respondent [ at its [ insert details, eg London office ] ] as [ insert job title, eg an electrician ] from [ insert date ] until [ his OR her OR their ] dismissal on [ insert date ]. It is [ accepted OR denied ] that the Respondent is [ insert brief description of the nature of the Respondent, eg a nationwide property maintenance service ]. For the reasons set out below, the Respondent denies that the Claimant was unfairly [ and/or wrongfully ] dismissed, as alleged or at all. [ It is further denied that the Respondent [ insert details of any other claims, eg automatically unfairly dismissed the Claimant under section 152 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULR(C)A 1992), automatically unfairly selected the Claimant for redundancy under section 153 of TULR(C)A 1992,...

This Deed is entered into on [ insert day and month ] 20[ insert year ], as of that date Parties [ insert name of Assignor ], a company incorporated in England and Wales with company number [ insert company number ], whose registered office is at [ insert address ] (the Assignor); and [ insert name of Security Agent ], acting as security agent and trustee for the Finance Parties pursuant to the terms and conditions contained in the [ [ Facilities Agreement ] OR [ Intercreditor Agreement ] OR [ Security Trust Deed ] ] (the Security Agent). Recitals: (A) The Finance Parties have consented to provide the loan facilities, subject to the terms and conditions set out in the Facilities Agreement (as defined below). (B) A condition precedent to the availability of the loan facilities is that the Assignor enters into this Deed to provide security in favour of the Security Agent in respect of...

Under section 193 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 Employers are required to inform the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) before issuing any redundancy notices and, in any event: where 20 or more dismissals are contemplated within 90 days, no less than 30 days before the first dismissal takes effect where 100 or more dismissals are contemplated within 90 days, no less than 45 days before the first dismissal takes effect For BEIS notification purposes, the full 30- or 45-day interval must pass before the first dismissal occurs. Notification is made on Form HR1, submitted to The Insolvency Service. For additional details, see Practice Note: Collective redundancy—statutory information and consultation obligations, under the heading Obligation to notify BEIS (Form HR1). As stated in the Advance notification of redundancies: guidance for employers accompanying Form HR1, the notification date is ‘the date on which we receive your completed form’. Forms with any required information...

For guidance on safeguarding confidentiality in the workplace, see Practice Note: Confidential information and trade secrets in employment. For broader support on addressing misconduct, consult the following Practice Notes: Managing conduct Dismissing fairly for conduct reasons Reason for dismissal—conduct Protection from dismissal Under section 152 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULR(C)A 1992), a dismissal will be automatically unfair if the principal reason for ending employment is that the worker: has taken part in, or intended to take part in, the activities of an independent trade union at an appropriate time has used, or intended to use, trade union services at an appropriate time For these purposes, ‘an appropriate time’ is: a time outside the worker’s normal working hours, or a time during working hours when the employer has agreed they may engage in union activities or make use of union services The...

The process whereby a trade union can seek to be recognised by an employer for the purposes of collective bargaining comprises elements of both voluntarism and compulsion. At the outset, recognition is settled through negotiation between the employer and the relevant union or unions, including whether recognition is granted, for which purposes and at what organisational level. This is known as ‘voluntary recognition’. Where recognition rests purely on a voluntary basis, the employer may reverse its position and withdraw that recognition at any time. Such a step can have industrial relations ramifications, but there is little the union can achieve in law to stop it, unless the recognition agreement is a binding contract, which is highly unusual. For further detail, see Practice Note: Trade union recognition, under the section headed ‘Voluntary recognition where no request for statutory recognition’. If the employer is not prepared to concede recognition immediately and refuses voluntary recognition, the union may commence the statutory recognition process and seek to persuade the employer by submitting a...