Employment Law Solicitors and HR Professionals Call for Overhaul of Employment 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 year to July 2010, there were 236,000 cases accepted to the Employment Tribunal, compared to only 151,000 the previous year. HR professionals claim to be struggling to cope with the increase in grievances whilst employment law solicitors are also expressing their worries.
Perhaps in response to high levels of redundancies forced on employers by the recession, Employment Tribunal cases are at the highest ever 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 primary concern of employment law solicitors across the UK was the inconsistency of the Employment Tribunal’s approach, efficiency and level of service in different regions. Weaknesses and potential improvements were suggested in the survey responses, with suggestions on how to save costs and time of utmost importance.
Over four fifths of the employment law solicitors surveyed said that they did not believe that the approach of the Employment Tribunal across the UK was consistent. 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.