Employment tribunals: all change?

Business owners have shown a reluctance to accept the Government’s urgings to recruit new staff when there are so many costs and risks inherent in the process. Indeed, the trend in small businesses has been to avoid employing people and to outsource wherever possible. The sheer cost of employment is one discouraging factor. The problem associated with trying to remove unsatisfactory employees is another significant concern. Most employers take the view that with the tribunal process as ineffective and costly as it is, even if you win, you’ll probably lose between £6-10k in the costs of preparing and presenting the case. These costs will never be recovered by the business.

This week the Government announced that it intends to make life easier for employers by making some fundamental reforms to employment legislation. The details are still unclear, but the Government intends to consult on a variety of proposals, including:

• Whether to charge a fee to lodge a claim at employment tribunal;
• The imposition of compulsory mediation for all tribunal claims;
• Increasing the service qualification in unfair dismissal from one year to two years.

The proposal to charge people a fee is broadly welcomed by business as a "reasonable" idea to make workers think twice about lodging a claim.

The proposals to extend the service qualification before unfair dismissal can be claimed are aimed at making it easier to dismiss someone without falling foul of the law. That said, questions have arisen about the efficacy of changing the rules on claiming unfair dismissal and many are concerned that it may lead to the exploitation of workers.

The Government also aims to introduce an Employer's Charter, which will remind employers of their rights, for example, the right to ask an employee to take annual leave at a time that suits the business, the right to ask staff to take a pay cut and the right to dismiss poorly performing staff. It is unclear what this is intended to achieve as these rights already exist.

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.


Kate Russell is the author of How to Get Top Marks in … Tackling Workplace Investigations.

Russell HR Consulting provides expert knowledge in the practical application of employment law as well as providing employment law training and HR support services. For more information, visit our website at www.russellhrconsulting.co.uk or call a member of the team on 0845 644 8955.

Russell HR Consulting offers HR services to businesses nationwide, including Buckinghamshire (covering Aylesbury, High Wycombe, Milton Keynes, Bedford, Banbury, Northampton, Towcester and surrounding areas), Nottinghamshire (covering Chesterfield, Mansfield, Nottingham, Sheffield, Worksop and surrounding areas) and Hampshire (covering Aldershot, Basingstoke, Reading, Farnborough, Fareham, Portsmouth, Southampton and surrounding areas).