Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill

Debate between Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town and Lord Marland

Monday 10th December 2012 Grand Committee

[Lord Marland]

We will pick that up in another part of the Bill, on the award, where the penalty is 50% of the award per employee. We have tabled amendments on that point. We can debate the point then, if the noble Baroness is satisfied with that.

[Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town]

I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Brinton, for her support. I find it hard to thank the Minister because I do not think that he has really quite got the point. These companies are already in insolvency, so the question of whether to take into account whether they will continue to trade is not the point; the point there is whether they will be sold on.

What is the purpose of a penalty against the directors who are no longer running the company? I cannot see the point of that, and I do not think that the Minister answered the question. We are talking about penalties, not awards to employees. Although the Minister is correct that they will rate on holiday pay, redundancy and, I think, sick pay—I need help from an expert on that—if money is due into the pension scheme, that would not rate higher than a penalty due to the Secretary of State. There will be other employee interests that could be damaged by this.

I am slightly surprised that the Government feel any need to put a penalty against a company for a transgression when the people concerned are no longer there. We will bring this back in due course, but, for the moment, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.