Following the decision by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the case of a bus driver’s dismissal, the Government has said it will amend the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill to remove the two-year qualifying period for unfair dismissal where the alleged reason for it is political opinion or affiliation.
In the European Court case, a bus driver was dismissed after he was elected as a local councillor for the British National Party but was not able to bring an unfair dismissal claim, as he did not have the required one year’s service, which has since been increased to two years.
The ECHR said that not being able to bring the case because of the length of his employment was a breach of the driver’s human rights and the Government has confirmed this week that it will not appeal the ruling.
Employment Relations Minister Jo Swinson said that, having considered the ECHR judgement, the Government has tabled an amendment to the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, which is currently before the House of Lords.
She said that the amendment will exempt claimants who allege that their dismissal was on the grounds of political opinion or affiliation from the two-year qualifying period.
The ruling could lead to an increase in claims, as employment tribunal claims for dismissals involving political opinions tend to lead to religion or belief discrimination claims, for which there is no qualifying period, under the ‘philosophical belief’ heading.
Once the amendment goes through, employers will have to show that any dismissal for political opinions falls within the ‘range of reasonable responses’ and cases are likely to revolve around the conflict between the employee’s views, which should not conflict with the rights of others, and the employer’s values and reputation.