Workplace Report April 2009

Bargaining news

Defaulters’ register

The government has announced plans to publish a new register naming and shaming employers who default on employment tribunal award payments. The register will be open to the public and available on the Registry Trust’s Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines.

The TUC welcomed the move, intended to clamp down on firms that flout tribunal judgments. Brendan Barber, TUC general secretary, said: “Action against bad employers shouldn’t stop here. The government must put systems in place to ensure that everyone who wins an employment tribunal award actually receives it. Too many people are hit by the double whammy of employers acting illegally and then refusing to pay when they are caught.”

The government warned that inclusion on the register could harm businesses’ ability to borrow money. The Registry Trust’s website is www.trustonline.org.uk