The Part-time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2001

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations, which are made under section 19 of the Employment Relations Act 1999, make technical amendments to the Employment Tribunals Act 1996 and the Employment Rights Act 1996 to secure—

• that the powers that conciliation officers appointed by ACAS normally have to conciliate in relation to employment tribunal claims apply to such claims brought under regulation 5(1) of the Part-time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000 (S.I. 2000/1551) that a part-time worker has been treated less favourably than a worker who is not part-time, and

• that the restrictions that are contained in section 203 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 against contracting out of the rights in the Act, and are applied to the rights in the Regulations by regulation 9, do not apply where a compromise agreement is made in relation to proceedings arising under regulation 5(1) or regulation 7(2) (detrimental acts by the employer) that satisfies the conditions regulating such agreements in section 203(3) to (4) of the Act.

A Regulatory Impact Assessment of the estimated costs and benefits of these Regulations has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses of Parliament. It is available to the public from Employment Relations 5A, Department of Trade and Industry, 1 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0ET and is also available on the DTI website at www.dti.gov.uk.

The Regulations come into force on 1st May 2001.