All communications between either party and the arbitrator shall be sent via the LRA, other than in the course of a hearing.

Paragraph 123 below sets out the manner in which any document, notice or communication must be served on, or transmitted to, the LRA.

This Scheme only applies to disputes involving proceedings, or claims which could be the subject of proceedings, before an industrial tribunal arising out of a contravention, or alleged contravention, of Article 112G(1) or Article 112H(1)(b) of the 1996 Order.

The Scheme does not extend to other kinds of claim which may be related to, or raised at the same time as, a Flexible Working Claim. For example, sex discrimination cases, and religious and political discrimination cases are not covered by the Scheme.

If a Flexible Working Claim has been referred for resolution under the Scheme, any other claim, even if part of the same dispute, must be settled separately, or referred to an industrial tribunal, or withdrawn. In the event that different aspects of the same dispute are being heard in an industrial tribunal as well as under the Scheme, the arbitrator may decide, if appropriate or convenient, to postpone the arbitration proceedings pending a determination by an industrial tribunal.

The Scheme is not designed for disputes that raise jurisdictional issues, for example:

• whether or not the claimant is an employee of the employer;

• whether or not the employee had the necessary period of continuous service to bring the claim;

• whether or not time limits have expired and/or should be extended.

Accordingly, when agreeing to refer a dispute to arbitration under the Scheme, both parties will be taken to have accepted as a condition of the Scheme that no jurisdictional issue is in dispute between them. The arbitrator will not therefore deal with such issues during the arbitration process, even if they are raised by the parties, and the parties will be taken to have waived any rights in that regard.

Where an agreement fails to satisfy any one of these requirements, no valid reference to the Scheme will have been made, and the parties will have to settle their dispute by other means or have recourse to an industrial tribunal.

All Arbitration Agreements must be notified to the LRA within two weeks of their conclusion, by either of the parties or their independent advisers or representatives, or a LRA conciliator, sending a copy of the agreement and Waiver Forms, together with IT1 and IT3 forms if these have been completed, to the LRA.

For the purposes of the previous paragraph, an Arbitration Agreement is treated as “concluded”on the date it is signed, or if signed by different people at different times, on the date of the last signature.

Where an Arbitration Agreement is not notified to the LRA within two weeks, the LRA will not arrange for the appointment of an arbitrator under the Scheme, unless notification within that time was not reasonably practicable. Any party seeking to notify the LRA of an Arbitration Agreement outside this period must explain in writing to the LRA the reason for the delay. The LRA shall appoint an arbitrator, in accordance with the appointment provisions below, to consider the explanation, and that arbitrator may seek the views of the other party, and may call both parties to a hearing to establish the reasons for the delay. The arbitrator shall then rule in an award on whether or not the agreement can be accepted for hearing under the Scheme.

Any such hearing and award will be governed by the provisions of this Scheme.

Parties are free to reach an agreement settling the dispute at any stage.

An agreed award shall state that it is an award of the arbitrator by consent and shall have the same status and effect as any other award on the merits of the case.

Arbitral appointments are made exclusively by the LRA from the LRA Arbitration Panel. Parties will have no choice of arbitrator.

Once the LRA has been notified of a valid Arbitration Agreement, it will select and appoint an arbitrator, and notify all parties of the name of the arbitrator so appointed. In making or reviewing an appointment the LRA will take into account matters such as conflicts of interest.

Arbitrators have a continuing duty to disclose to the LRA any matter relating to the appropriateness, propriety, impartiality or conflict of interest concerning their appointment to hear a case. In support of this arbitrators will be required to disclose their interests to the LRA. The LRA will hold a register of arbitrators' interests. Notwithstanding arbitrators disclosing their continuing interests, the register will be formally updated on an annual basis.

Once appointed, and until the arbitration is concluded, every arbitrator shall be under a continuing duty forthwith to disclose to the LRA any such interests which may have arisen since appointment.

Arbitrators may only be removed by the LRA or the court (under the provisions in paragraphs 41 to 43 below).

Applications under the Scheme to remove an arbitrator on any of the grounds set out in sections 24(1)(a) and (c) of the Arbitration Act 1996 shall be made in the first instance to the LRA.

If the LRA refuses such an application, a party may thereafter apply to the court.

The arbitrator may continue the proceedings and make an award while an application to the LRA (as well as the court) to remove him/her is pending.

Where an arbitrator ceases to hold an appointment for any reason, he/she shall be replaced by the LRA in accordance with the appointment provisions above.

Once appointed, the replacement arbitrator shall determine whether and, if so, to what extent the previous proceedings should stand.

A hearing must be held in every case, notwithstanding any agreement between the parties to a purely written procedure.

Once an arbitrator has been appointed a hearing shall be arranged as soon as reasonably practicable by the LRA.

The LRA, in conjunction with the arbitrator, shall decide the date and venue for the hearing.

The LRA shall contact all parties with details of the date and venue for the hearing.

Hearings will be held in the LRA Head or Regional Office. In exceptional circumstances alternative venues may be considered. Any formal application for a venue other than the LRA offices must be made, in writing, with reasons, to the LRA within 14 days of the date of the letter notifying of the hearing arrangements. Such applications will be determined by the LRA after all parties have received a copy of the formal application and been given a reasonable opportunity to respond.

Where premises have to be hired for a hearing, the LRA shall meet the reasonable costs of so doing.

Every party shall meet its own travelling expenses and those of its representatives and witnesses.

No loss of earnings is payable by the LRA to anyone involved in the arbitration. However, where an arbitrator upholds a Flexible Working Claim, he/she may include in the calculation of any compensation a sum to cover reasonable travelling expenses and loss of earnings incurred by the employee personally in attending the hearing.

Any application for a postponement of an initial hearing must be made in writing, with reasons, to the LRA within 14 days of the date of the letter notifying the hearing arrangements or, where this is not practicable, as soon as is reasonably practicable. Such applications will be determined by the arbitrator without an oral hearing after all parties have received a copy of the application and been given a reasonable opportunity to respond.

If the application is rejected, the initial hearing will be held on the original date.

This provision does not affect the arbitrator’s general discretion (set out below) with respect to postponements after an initial hearing has been fixed, or with respect to other aspects of the procedure. In particular, procedural applications may be made to the arbitrator at the hearing itself.

Written statements of case should briefly set out the main particulars of each party’s case, which can then be expanded upon if necessary at the hearing itself. The statement should include an explanation of the events which led to the Flexible Working Claim being brought including an account of the outcome of any relevant meetings.

The parties must also supply details of any relevant awards of compensation that may have been made by any other tribunal or court in connection with the subject matter of the claim.

Legible copies of documents must be supplied to the LRA even if they have already been supplied to an LRA conciliator before the Arbitration Agreement was concluded.

No information on the conciliation process, if any, in respect of the case to be heard by the arbitrator shall be disclosed by the LRA to the arbitrator.

Written statements of case and documentary or other material that have not been provided to the LRA prior to the hearing (in accordance with paragraph 68 above) may only be relied upon at the hearing with the arbitrator’s permission.

All representatives and witnesses who have been listed as accompanying a party at the hearing should be present at the start of the hearing. Witnesses who have not been included in a list submitted to the LRA prior to the hearing may only be called with the arbitrator’s permission.

Where the arbitrator believes that there may be considerable differences between the parties over any issue, including the availability or exchange of documents, or the availability of witnesses, the arbitrator may call, through the LRA, the parties to a preliminary hearing to address such issues, or he/she may determine procedural directions.

In the course of a preliminary hearing and/or through the LRA, the arbitrator may express views on the desirability of information and/or evidence being available at the hearing.

In the case of the non-attendance of the employee, if the arbitrator decides to adjourn the hearing, he/she may request, in writing, through the LRA that the employee provides an explanation for the non-attendance. If the arbitrator decides that the employee has not demonstrated sufficient cause for the non-attendance, he/she may rule in an award that the claim be treated as dismissed.

The arbitrator shall have the power, on the application of any party or of his/her own volition, to require the appointment of a legal adviser to assist with respect to any issue of EC law or the Human Rights Act 1998 that, in the arbitrator’s view and subject to paragraph 13 above (Arbitrator’s Terms of Reference), might be involved and relevant to the resolution of the dispute.

The legal adviser will be appointed by the LRA, to report to the arbitrator and the parties, and shall be subject to the duty of disclosure set out in paragraphs 38 and 39 above.

The arbitrator shall allow the legal adviser to attend the proceedings, and may order an adjournment to facilitate this.

The parties shall be given a reasonable opportunity to comment to the arbitrator on any information, opinion or advice offered by the legal adviser, following which the arbitrator shall take such information, opinion or advice into account in determining the dispute.

The award shall be in writing, signed by the arbitrator.

In so far as any such correction or additional award involves a new issue that was not previously before the parties, this power shall not be exercised without first affording the parties a reasonable opportunity to make written representations to the arbitrator.

Any application by a party for the exercise of this power must be made via the LRA within 28 days of the date the award was despatched to the applying party by the LRA.

Any correction of the award shall be made within 28 days of the date the application was received by the arbitrator or, where the correction is made by the arbitrator on his/her own initiative, within 28 days of the date of the award.

Any additional award shall be made within 56 days of the date of the original award.

Any correction of the award shall form part of the award.

Awards made by arbitrators under this Scheme are final and binding both on the parties and on any persons claiming through or under them.

This does not affect the right of a person to challenge an award under the provisions of the Arbitration Act 1996 as applied to this Scheme.

Any notice or other document required or authorised to be given or served on the LRA for the purposes of the arbitral proceedings shall be sent by pre-paid post to the following address:

or transmitted by facsimile, addressed to the Arbitration Secretary, at the number stipulated in the LRA Guide to the Scheme,

or by electronic mail, at the address stipulated in the LRA Guide to the Scheme.

Paragraph 123 (above) does not apply to the service of documents on the LRA for the purposes of legal proceedings.

Any notice or other document required or authorised to be given or served on any person or entity (other than the LRA) for the purposes of the arbitral proceedings may be served by any effective means.

Paragraphs 125 and 126 (above) do not apply to the service of documents for the purposes of legal proceedings, for which provision is made by rules of court.