Employment tribunal naming scheme
19 December 2018
The Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices recommended that employers who do not pay employment tribunal awards within a reasonable time should be named publicly.
A naming scheme has been announced and will apply to awards registered with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) on or after 18 December 2018 will be in scope.
The scheme is structured similarly to the existing scheme for National Minimum Wage underpayment and will name employers, along with the unpaid employment tribunal award, approximately quarterly in a press release on Gov.uk.
BEIS’ naming scheme runs in parallel to the Department’s already existing employment tribunal penalty scheme. The penalty scheme was established in April 2016 as a free route for individuals to chase outstanding employment awards and can impose additional penalties on employers of 50% of the original award amount if the award remains unpaid.
The naming scheme provides a new incentive, alongside any financial penalty, for employers to settle outstanding employment tribunal awards quickly.
Only employment tribunal awards of £200 or more are in scope to be considered for naming.
The scheme does not currently extend to Acas conciliated settlements.
If someone wins an employment tribunal and the respondent doesn’t pay, they can ask to have them fined and named publicly – by using this Employment tribunal penalty enforcement form.
The respondent will get a warning notice giving them 28 days to pay. If they still don’t pay, they will be fined and may be named by the government.
Penalty notices apply to judgments given on or after 6 April 2016.
Naming applies to judgments registered with the naming scheme on or after 18 December 2018.
Guidance on how the scheme to name employers who do not pay employment tribunal awards works has been published.