Jersey Employment and Discrimination Tribunal: re-appointment of members

2019  R.135

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REPORT

Background

Article 81 of the Employment (Jersey) Law 2003 (the "Employment Law"), as amended by the Discrimination (Jersey) Law 2013 (the "Discrimination Law"), provides for the establishment of the Jersey Employment and Discrimination Tribunal (the "Tribunal"). It  provides  that  the  Tribunal  will  exercise  the  authority  conferred  on  it  by  the Employment Law, the Discrimination Law, and the Employment Relations (Jersey) Law 2007.

The written decisions of the Tribunal are published on the Jersey Legal Information Board website. Each Annual Report of the Tribunal is presented as a Report to the States. The latest (2018) Annual Report was presented on 4th April 2019 as R.41/2019.

Constitution of the Tribunal

The  Employment  and  Discrimination  Tribunal  (Jersey)  Regulations  2014 (the "Regulations") make provision for the constitution and membership of the Tribunal, including for the appointment and terms of office of the members. The Regulations provide that the Tribunal consists of the following members –

1. one legally qualified Chairman;
2. at least one and not more than 5 legally qualified Deputy Chairmen;
3. at  least  2  and  not  more  than  8  lay  members  with  knowledge  or experience  of,  or  interest  in, trade  unions  or  matters  relating  to employees generally;
4. at  least  2  and  not  more  than  8  lay  members  with  knowledge  or experience of, or interest in, employers' associations or matters relating to employers generally; and
5. at  least  2  and  not  more  than  8  lay  members  with  knowledge  or experience of, or interest in, matters relating generally to equality and discrimination, or to discrimination and protected characteristics.

In hearing a complaint that relates to employment or discrimination in employment, the Regulations provide that a 3-person Panel must consist of a legally qualified Chairman or   Deputy  Chairman  with  2  lay  members;  one  employee  representative  member (paragraph (c)), and one employer representative member (paragraph (d)), chosen by rotation. It is important that the employer/employee balance is retained in employment- related discrimination cases.

Where a Panel is formed to hear a complaint about an act of discrimination that does not relate to employment or recruitment (e.g. housing, services or education), the Panel must consist of the Chairman or a Deputy Chairman and 2 members from the pool of discrimination  lay  members  (paragraph (e)),  chosen  by  rotation.  The  employer/ employee balance is not required in such a case.

R.135/2019

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The Regulations also provide that members are appointed by the States on the recommendation of the Minister for Social Security (the "Minister"), after consultation with the Jersey Appointments Commission, for an initial term of up to 5 years.

After consultation with the Jersey Appointments Commission, the Minister may extend a member's initial term of office by re-appointing the member to the same office. The Jersey Appointments Commission recruitment guidelines state that: "States appointees and members of independent bodies should not normally be appointed for terms in excess of nine years."[1]

Re-appointment of 8 lay members

The initial 5-year terms of office for 8 of the current Tribunal members would expire on 8th December 2019, and each of those members has requested to extend their term of office as a member of the Tribunal.

Having consulted the Jersey Appointments Commission and confirmed that the contribution of each of the members of the Tribunal has been satisfactory, the Minister has re-appointed the following 8 individuals as lay members, each for a further (and final) 4-year term of office which will end on 8th December 2023 –

Mrs. Elizabeth Adams Mrs. Janet Brothertom Mrs. Melanie Cavey

Mr. Thomas Gales

Mr. Mandlenkosi Mlambo Miss Tamburai Mouni Miss Daria Sawicka

Mr. Clive Holloway.

It is not necessary to request that the States Assembly approves the re-appointments. As a matter of good order, this Report notifies the Assembly.