21 April 2020

BPIF Employer Protection Scheme

Fully cover the costs and awards of employment tribunals claims resulting from COVID-19.

It's anticipated that when we eventually see light at the end of the tunnel, just behind it maybe the dark clouds of litigation. After the Job Retention Scheme (JRS) ends and the lock down is lifted, and considering the OBR predictions for the economy, there may be a large upswing in employment tribunal claims by reason of redundancies (unfair selection), breach of contract claims (notice pay), unlawful deduction of wages and whistle blowing claims relating to alleged breaches of the JRS.

Therefore we are pleased to advise that refreshingly amidst all the chaos there is some good news. The BPIF's Employment Protection Scheme is one insurance scheme that is not hiding behind the wording. It has stated clearly that as long as you follow BPIF advice, you will be covered by the scheme for legal costs, awards and settlements as a result of litigation.

The following statement has been made by our partner insurers;

We are pleased to report that, whilst insurers have insisted on inserting a clause in the policy relating to communicable diseases, we have managed to negotiate this so that it protects and supports clients who have employment disputes insurance through these difficult times.

A new clause is being inserted into all new and renewal policies which reads;

"This insurance excludes absolutely any loss directly arising out of, contributed to, or resulting from any infectious or otherwise communicable disease save that where the Insured takes and follows the advice from the Appointed Solicitor through any redundancy or dismissal or making any significant variation to a worker's contract which might lead to the dismissal of or the termination of the contract of a worker the policy will indemnify the Insured on the basis there are Reasonable Prospects of a Satisfactory Outcome."

The upshot is, if as a result of the outfall of COVID-19 you are presented with ACAS early conciliation, followed by an employment tribunal claim, as long as you take and follow the advice from BPIF legal and HR teams, legal costs, awards and settlements will be covered under this insurance policy.

We understand that taking on extra insurance costs during such uncertain times may not seem financially viable, however we urge you to rethink, our legal team predict that rafts of employment tribunal claims are on the way. The average barrister's fees to provide representation at a 1 day employment tribunal hearing are £1,500 plus VAT. Most employment tribunal hearings run between 2-5 days depending on the complexity of the case. This could lead to barrister's fees of between £3,000 to £15,000 plus VAT, before any compensatory award an Employment Judge may order, or the alternative the value of any mid-litigation settlement. The very reasonable insurance premium costs are a cost effective safety blanket in such uncertain times.

The insurance scheme can be accessed by BPIF Platinum and Legal Plus members for an annual premium based upon wage roll and previous claims history. Both categories of member are required to have a healthcheck to ensure HR policies are up to date and, the insurance policy must be in place before any ACAS Early Conciliation notification is received. Thereafter professional conduct of the matter will be handed over to the BPIF Legal team to advise and manage the employment tribunal process.

The BPIFs solicitors have 20 years plus experience and their advisory practices are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Our partner insurers provide delegated authority to our legal team to manage any litigated claim without seeking stage by stage approval.

For details of how to get a policy premium quote please contact Gaynor Beckett at 07801 981 310 or email [email protected]