The much anticipated consultation on reforming access to the employment tribunal system, 'Resolving workplace disputes', has now been published. As expected, the government proposals include increasing the minimum qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims to two years, and requiring the payment of a fee in order to lodge a tribunal claim. The consultation will continue until 20 April 2011.
The government states that its proposed changes to employment law are intended to 'ensure maximum flexibility while protecting fairness and providing the competitive environment required for enterprise and growth'. Perhaps the most controversial proposal is the increased qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims. The government believes such a move will enable businesses to 'feel more confident about hiring people' and create 'more time for the relationship to get established and work well' and not become 'a charter for businesses to sack people unfairly'. The government estimates that the increase will result in between 3,700 and 4,700 fewer unfair dismissal claims per year.
Other proposals include:
- Requiring parties to contribute towards the cost of running employment tribunals, and the Employment Appeal Tribunal, by paying fees. The Government intends to consult on the detail of this proposal in the Spring;
- Requiring all claims to be submitted to ACAS before being considered by a tribunal, allowing ACAS a period of up to a month to offer pre-claim conciliation. This is intended to enable potential claimants to have a clear understanding of issues, such as how long a case might take, and what a tribunal might award;
- Introducing automatic financial penalties for employers found to have breached employment rights, on top of the ordinary compensation already payable. The penalty would generally be half the amount of the total award made to the claimant, and would be payable to the Exchequer;
- Extending the jurisdictions where employment judges can sit alone to include unfair dismissal where questions of fact can be analysed within a framework of law that is relatively uncomplicated or settled; and
- Reviewing the formula for calculating employment tribunal awards and statutory redundancy payment limits.
Employment Solicitor, Paul Burton, says "It is certain that there will be much heated debate during the consultation process and we will keep you informed of any developments".