Section 1 repealed that part of the EA 2002 (and with it ERA 1996 s 98A) and instead gave tribunals a discretion to adjust the award by 25% if an employer had not complied with the Code of Practice for its industry on dismissal procedure (s 3).

This individual enforcement is not perceived to be very effective, since workers will often not understand their exact rights, know how to bring a case to a tribunal or have the money to hire decent legal representation.

Section 14 makes a wordy and insignificant amendment to the s 44 NMWA 1998, which says voluntary workers do not get paid a minimum wage, but can claim reasonable expenses for the purpose of their volunteer work.

EASI has additional inspection powers, and if a Scottish partnership is the employer who fails to comply with the relevant standards then the partners will be personally liable.

Section 19 amends trade union membership law in line with the decision by the European Court of Human Rights in ASLEF v United Kingdom.

This decided that members of the quasi-fascist British National Party could lawfully be expelled from membership of a trade union, and that it did not breach the right to freedom of association under Art 11 ECHR.