Section 19A — Employment Tribunals Act 1996: Conciliation: recovery of sums payable under settlements

Conciliation: recovery of sums payable under settlements 19A 1 Subsections (3) to (6) apply if—

a a conciliation officer—

i has taken action under any of sections 18A to 18C in a case, and ii issues a certificate in writing stating that a settlement has been reached in the case, and b all of the terms of the settlement are set out—

i in a single relevant document, or ii in a combination of two or more relevant documents.

2 A document is a “ relevant document ” for the purposes of subsection (1) if—

a it is the certificate, or b it is a document that is referred to in the certificate or that is referred to in a document that is within this paragraph.

3 Any sum payable by a person under the terms of the settlement (a “ settlement sum”) shall, subject to subsections (4) to (7), be recoverable—

a in England and Wales, by execution issued from the county court or otherwise as if the sum were payable under an order of that court;

b in Scotland, by diligence as if the certificate were an extract registered decree arbitral bearing a warrant for execution issued by the sheriff court of any sheriffdom in Scotland.

4 A settlement sum is not recoverable under subsection (3) if—

a the person by whom it is payable applies for a declaration that the sum would not be recoverable from him under the general law of contract, and b that declaration is made.

5 If rules of court so provide, a settlement sum is not recoverable under subsection (3) during the period—

a beginning with the issue of the certificate, and b ending at such time as may be specified in, or determined under, rules of court.

6 If the terms of the settlement provide for the person to whom a settlement sum is payable to do anything in addition to discontinuing or not starting proceedings, that sum is recoverable by him under subsection (3)—

a in England and Wales, only if the county court so orders;

b in Scotland, only if the sheriff so orders.

7 Once an application has been made for a declaration under subsection (4) in relation to a sum, no further reliance may be placed on subsection (3) for the recovery of the sum while the application is pending.

8 An application for a declaration under subsection (4) may be made to an employment tribunal, the county court or the sheriff.

9 Procedure Rules may (in particular) make provision as to the time within which an application to an employment tribunal for a declaration under subsection (4) is to be made.

10 Rules of court may make provision as to—

a the time within which an application to the county court for a declaration under subsection (4) is to be made;

b the time within which an application to the sheriff for a declaration under subsection (4) is to be made;

c when an application (whether made to the county court , the sheriff or an employment tribunal) for a declaration under subsection (4) is pending for the purposes of subsection (7). 10A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

11 Nothing in this section shall be taken to prejudice any rights or remedies that a person has apart from this section.

12 In this section “ settlement ” (except in the phrase “ settlement sum”) means a settlement ... to avoid proceedings or bring proceedings to an end.