In what must be the perfect case study in the law of unintended consequences, Labour’s new Employment Rights Act (ERA) gives top bankers the chance to rake in millions in dismissal payouts with the scrapping of the compensation cap. Chants of “thank you Angie!” can be heard emanating from the City for the first time in history…
The financial cap on unfair dismissal claims, currently £118,223, will be axed on 1st January next year. This is the maximum sum an employment tribunal can award a claimant for wrongful termination. Binning it opens the door for bankers earning many times that amount to shake down their banks upon exit. Even the government’s own analysis admits the move “may particularly benefit [some groups], such as high-earning employees”. Those with deep pockets now have a real incentive to take their former employers to court…
In Henry Mance’s piece today for the FT, lunching with Nigel Farage:
“Splendido!” Farage says, when the drinks arrive; I suppose it’s a step to European reconciliation. We clink glasses, and he lights the first of two back-to-back Benson & Hedges. A few minutes later, we’re back downstairs. “Are you drinking? Good.” He orders a glass of Sauvignon blanc for each of us — not a bottle, “because it’s Lent” — followed by a bottle of claret, to have with our meal. They say Farage drinks less than he used to. They say a lot of things.”