People Management
27 January 2011
The government has opened a public consultation on the reform of employment tribunals and published a new employers' charter today.
As part of its comprehensive review of employment law, the coalition is seeking views on how workplace disputes can be resolved at an earlier stage and how the tribunal service can be made as "user-friendly and effective as possible".
Tribunal claims rose 56 per cent to a record 236,000 cases last year, and concerns have been raised about the cost and slowness of the system and the strains it can put on small businesses in particular.
Imposing an up-front fee for employees to bring a case, and doubling the length of service to claim unfair dismissal are suggestions which have already been floated.
Launching the consultation, business secretary Vince Cable said: "Disputes in the workplace cost time and money, can affect morale, reduce productivity and hold back businesses. We often hear that knife-edge decisions about whether to hire new staff can be swung by concerns about ending up in an employment tribunal if things don't work out.
"But let's be clear - resolving disputes earlier is also in the interests of workers," he added. "No one wants to spend month after month worrying about a claim - we need to make what can be an extremely stressful time in people's lives as short as possible."
The employers' charter also consolidates employers' rights and "will tackle the myth" that employment protections are skewed towards the employee, said Cable.
The document consolidates an employer's entitlement to dismiss a worker for poor performance, reject flexible working requests and have discussions with staff surrounding maternity leave and retirement.
The CIPD welcomed the launch of the charter and backed plans to give Acas a greater role in attempting to keep workplace disputes out of the courts.
"The charter debunks some of the common myths about the impact of employment law in the workplace and provides some useful guidance to employers which highlights that if they are reasonable, use common sense and are consistent in how they deal with their staff, they are unlikely to fall foul of employment law," said Mike Emmott, employee relations adviser at the CIPD.
"We also welcome a greater role for the Acas conciliation service in hopefully 'heading off' a greater proportion of employment tribunal claims before they reach the courts, and support plans to give judges greater scope to tackle weak or vexatious cases by increasing the deposit and cost limits they can impose on such claims," Emmott added.
But legal experts questioned whether the suggested tribunal changes would have the desired effect of reducing the threat of litigation for small businesses and increasing employment opportunities in the economy.
"Although the imposition of a fee to commence a tribunal claim should reduce the number of claims submitted, the increase in the qualification period for claiming unfair dismissal, from one year to two, is most unlikely to make any positive impact," said Esther Smith, a partner at employment law firm Thomas Eggar.
Gareth Brahams, head of employment at Stewarts Law, added: "The devil is in the detail of the new charter, what tribunals consider to be fair and the very pain of the process required to get the tribunal to make a ruling. The process is fraught with complication and legality that makes legal representation a necessity in many cases. This creates disproportionate costs for employers and employees alike.
"Whilst the Government pitches the charter in terms of protecting employers, the people who suffer the most are the significant majority of employees who cannot afford legal advice and have no union to represent them."
The public consultation on employment tribunals is being conducted by the Department for Business, Skills and Innovation and the Ministry of Justice's Tribunals Service, and runs until 20 April.