Rules about employment tribunals have changed
In an attempt to tackle the number – and cost – of disputes between employees and employers, the Government have introduced new rules about employment tribunals. Here is our update on what is new.
Last year, in July 2013, new fees were introduced to pursue disputes against employers in the tribunal courts to defer employees from lodging unfounded claims. According to CIPD, the statistics for claims from October to December 2013 show a dramatic drop in the number of tribunal claims made so the initiative seems to have been successful. Of course, the idea is not to defer employees with a genuine claim from holding their employer accountable for breaches in contract or for neglecting their duties.
As a further improvement in the process, it has now (since 7th April 2014) come into force that all employees wishing to lodge a claim must first contact Acas for advice. The services Acas provides are free and hopefully this will mean that employees will not be scared off from standing up for their rights. The role of Acas is to try to mediate the dispute and explore any possibilities for a pre-claim conciliation that could mean that the case does not have to escalate to the courts. Acas has put together a helpful flowchart showing the new process, which is available online.
If the employee wishes to continue with the case down the tribunal route, they will first need to get a certificate from Acas. However, either the employee or the employer can still simply refuse Acas’ help after their initial consultation.
Employment tribunals may be more common than you think like we wrote a while back. Poor absence management is one of the key causes of grievances that result in these claims. Even though it would seem that the new regulations are signalling a move in the right direction, you should still make sure you’re looking after your employees. To check how well you’re managing absence, try out our acid test.