Employment Law Solicitors Urge Overhaul of Tribunal System
Following a year of massive increases in the number of cases being accepted at employment tribunals, employment law solicitors and HR professionals have been expressing their concerns over the current Tribunal system. In the twelve months up to July 2010, there were over 230,000 cases accepted at the Employment Tribunal, compared to only around 150,000 in the year before. HR professionals claim to be struggling to cope with the increase in grievances whilst employment law solicitors are also expressing their worries.
Partly in response to high levels of redundancies caused by the recession, Tribunal cases are at an unprecedented level. Now, employment law solicitors have expressed their concern in their responses to a survey sent out to them by their professional body the ELA (Employment Lawyers Association).
The main concern that employment law solicitors across the country appeared to express was a lack of consistency with the Employment Tribunal’s approach, efficiency and quality in different parts of the UK. Their responses to the survey suggested where the problems lie and where improvements might be made in order to save time and costs for both claimants and employers alike.
Sadly, a huge 83% of the employment law solicitors who responded said they did not feel the Employment Tribunal’s approach was consistent across the UK. 93% believed that a more consistent approach would be universally beneficial.
For many employment law solicitors, the main problems with the current system are the lengthy process involved and the costs it incurs. Many were in support of allowing large scale equal pay claims to be handled by one single Employment Tribunal office. The vast majority also supported the introduction of a system of improved claim tracking, with the possibility of introducing a web portal similar to that used in low value road accident claims. This, claim employment law solicitors, would improve efficiency and drive down costs for all concerned.
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