Less employment law?
August 09 2007
The government has announced that statutory dispute procedures are to go. Not before time some would say. Well not before 2009 at the earliest, would be more accurate. So deeply embedded are these procedures that it is literally going to take an Act of Parliament to remove them.
Smaller employers are the most vulnerable to these procedures. Taken together, businesses employing fewer than 250 people account for two thirds of the Tribunal cases nationally, but they employ only about a third of the labour force.
Since 2004 all employers have been bound by these statutory procedures whenever they contemplate dismissal or whenever employees raise grievances. One effect of that legislation has been a huge upsurge in the number of grievances raised by employees. These often place the employer on the backfoot since it is not always easy to decide what remedy is appropriate when a grievance (that the employer has bullied them, for example), is upheld.
Then the “i” dotting and the “t” crossing aspect of the statutory requirements means every minor employment problem has employers, and their advisers, reaching for the legislation just in case they have to defend their actions in a Tribunal.
Now some, yet undetermined, mediation processes may replace the statutory procedures.
But there are relatively few obstacles to mediation even at present. Indeed £9,000 is the average cost (rarely recovered even in part) of fighting a tribunal claim. Therefore there should be a positive incentive to resolve issues before it comes to statutory remedies.
Many cases can be avoided by early, and appropriate, disciplinary action. Where poor performance is involved, a well-executed capability procedure will solve many problems. Proper handling of grievances can also do much to resolve issues that otherwise, could get out of hand. Some matters can even be resolved with the simplest of words: “sorry”.
Other, unavoidable, cases can usually be settled without the need for a hearing. Face-saving may be an obstacle. But it is rare for either side to be entirely innocent. Therefore reasons for paying an ex-employee some limited cash can often be found, without setting precedents. Where an employer’s case is “cut and dry” then Tribunal claims usually “disappear” if a pre-hearing assessment is arranged.
Tribunal appearances are no fun and, although some headlines may make it seem otherwise, it is debatable whether any one ever really “wins”. The best policy is to not to be there in the first place.
