The Employment Act 2008 is by contemporary standards relatively short (23 sections). It covers four main areas:

1. replacement of the 2004 compulsory dispute resolution procedures with a semi-voluntary ACAS Code of Practice (see Dispute Resolution/2004 new regulations and/or ACAS/codes of practice ), with effect from 6th April 2009 (sections 1 to 7)
   
2. new National Minimum Wage enforcement powers (sections 8 to 14 and see notes at Minimum Wage/enforcement )
   
3. strengthening the Employment Agencies Act 1973 (sections 15 to 17 and see notes at Employment Agencies/enforcement and prohibition orders )
   
4. trade unions will be permitted to refuse membership to individuals who belong to a political party if membership of that party is contrary to the rules of the union (sections 18 and 19 and see notes at Trade union matters/expulsion from union ).

The most important effects of the ending of the compulsory dispute resolution procedures will be (i) that a dismissal will no longer be automatically unfair because the employer failed to follow specified procedures; and (ii) employees will no longer have to have raised a formal grievance with their employer as a precondition for an employment tribunal to have jurisdiction to consider most claims. Instead, tribunals will have a discretionary power to reduce or increase awards by up to 25% if a new ACAS Code of Practice, being introduced, is not followed when it should be. Transitional provisions mean that there will be some cases in which the 2004 compulsory dispute resolution procedures apply even to claims filed with employment tribunals after 5th April 2009. There will be a cut off date of 4th July 2009 in some cases. The final cut off date for making a claim governed by the 2004 compulsory dispute resolution procedures is 4th October 2009, but this will only be relevant in (probably) a few equal pay and statutory redundancy pay cases.

The remaining four sections of the 2008 Act are of a general nature (repeals, extent, commencement and short title).

The part of the Act providing for replacement of the 2004 compulsory dispute resolution procedures, is in force on 6th April 2009 (see the Employment Act 2008 (Commencement No. 1, Transitional Provisions and Savings) Order 2008, SI 2008/3232 which also includes transitional, phasing in, provisions as very briefly outlined above).