On 17th June 2011, the Employment Awards Amendment (Jersey) Order 2011 came into force. This amendment equips the Jersey Employment Tribunal with additional powers to award monetary sums to a successful applicant.

Prior to this amendment, when making an award, the Tribunal was limited to the following:

  • up to 26 weeks' pay for a finding of unfair dismissal;
  • up to a further 26 weeks' pay if the employer failed to adhere to a reinstatement or re-engagement order; and
  • up to £10,000 for all other claims.

This position was potentially restrictive to an applicant whose 'other claims' would exceed the £10,000 limit. For example, depending on the applicant's contract of employment or length or service, pay for the applicable notice period may have exceeded the Tribunal's limit. This would have caused the applicant to commence proceedings in the Tribunal in relation to the claim for unfair dismissal, but then either accept an award of £10,000 or have to issue separate proceedings in the appropriate court to recover their notice pay and any other contractual or statutory entitlements. It appears that the new amendment has enabled the Tribunal to keep more claims 'in house', as its powers have expanded to accommodate additional sums, which the applicant would have had to issue separate proceedings to recover previously.

In essence, the new amendment enables the Tribunal to award any sum that the employee is due under the Employment (Jersey) Law 2003; this causes statutory sums to be recovered in full and not be limited by the £10,000 cap that they previously fell within. The amendment now means that the Tribunal can award the following:

  • up to 26 weeks' pay for a finding of unfair dismissal;
  • up to a further 26 weeks' pay if the employer failed to adhere to a reinstatement or re-engagement order;
  • full statutory notice pay up to the limit of 12 weeks;
  • full statutory redundancy pay (which is calculated as the average weekly earnings and subject to a current cap of £630 per week);
  • the minimum wage for all hours worked;
  • any other award which the Tribunal considers to be a statutory entitlement; and
  • up to £10,000 for any other contractual claim, such as any additional notice pay, accrued holiday pay, a contractual bonus, un-notified deductions of salary, i.e. any contractual claim not specified in the Law.

The amendment is welcomed in the sense that it appropriately expands the Tribunal's powers to deal with claims which previously would have had to trouble the courts. However, whilst the Tribunal has exclusive jurisdiction in relation to a claim for unfair dismissal, it is still important that legal advice is sought in relation to whether the Tribunal can adequately compensate an individual's contractual entitlements, as separate court proceedings may still be necessary.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.