Chapter 1 Self-test questions

. In which statute did the Conservative government under Margaret Thatcher remove trade union immunity from suit in tort for damages related to industrial disputes?

The Trade Union Act 1984

The Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act 1993

The Employment Act 1982

The Employment Act 1990

. Of all of these employment measures enacted by New Labour, which one was not enacted as a transposition of an EU directive?

The Fixed-term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002

The Working Time Regulations 1998

The Part-time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000

The National Minimum Wage Act 1998

. Which of the following is not a function of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS)?

Arranging the arbitration of collective trade disputes.

Arranging the arbitration of individual employment discrimination claims.

Conciliating individual and collective disputes.

Providing advice on matters affecting industrial relations.

. Which of the following statements about the ACAS Code of Practice No 1 is not true?

It is not backed by any legal sanction.

It is a significant element of the government's plans to replace the standard procedures for discipline and grievances.

In an important way it functions like the Highway Code.

It acts as a default standard for employer conduct in handling discipline cases.

. The Central Arbitration Committee has the authority and responsibility to do all of the following except which one?

Adjudicate on complaints brought by individuals about infringements of the laws on the balloting required for the appointment of union officers.

Interpret and enforce the Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 2004.

Arbitrate on matters voluntarily submitted to it by the parties through ACAS.

Adjudicate on disputes arising from the statutory union recognition procedure under the Employment Relations Act 1999.

. Which statement about the employment tribunals is false?

Their advantages over ordinary adjudication include ease of access, informality, speed, and inexpensiveness.

In theory they consist of three people, one a legally trained employment judge, one from a panel of lay members representing management interests, and one form a panel representing workers' interests, although commonly there is one judge acting alone.

They have the authority to assign specified matters to 'industrial tribunals' for resolution of factual disputes.

A claimant may conduct her case before a tribunal without assistance from a lawyer or other advisor.

. Which of the following is not a ground on which the decision of an employment tribunal may be appealed to the Employment Appeal Tribunal?

The tribunal erroneously applied the law.

The decision was perverse, in the sense that an observer would say, 'My goodness, that must be wrong.'

If the members of the EAT believe that the tribunal decision offends reason.

Where the tribunal misunderstood or misapplied the facts.

. Which of the following is not an 'overriding objective' of the more informal rules of tribunal procedure?

Ensuring that the parties are on an equal footing.

Ensuring that complex legal issues are subordinated to the need for accessible dispute resolution.

Ensuring the case is dealt with expeditiously and fairly.

Saving expense.

. Which of the following statements about the Employment Appeal Tribunal is true?

It will never consider fresh evidence.

It is not permitted to substitute its own judgment for that of the original tribunal when an appeal is allowed.

It is not bound by its own previous decisions.

If it allows an appeal, it is required to resolve any new questions of fact raised by the appeal.

. Which of the following statements reflects the cumulative effect of changes to tribunal procedure and rules over the last decade and a half?

The tribunals have finally returned to the cheap, speedy, and accessible means of dispute resolution they were originally designed to be.

The tribunals are now intolerably complex and nearly inaccessible to claimants without a lot of money and a barrister.

Successive governments have made certain that tribunal claims are generally unsuccessful and represent no obstacle to the prerogatives of employers.

There are increasingly fewer differences between the tribunals and normal courts.

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