Earlier this
month The Law Society of England and Wales (TLS) published a discussion
document which proposes that the structure of employment tribunals (ET) could
be reformed. TLS has spoken to politicians, civil servants, the judiciary,
business associations, trade unions and employment law groups to see how the
employment tribunal structure can be improved.
TLS statement
outline that “Organisations, especially small businesses, can find the cost
and time needed to respond to a claim damages their business. Due to advances
in employment law, both legislative and procedural, the ET process has become
increasingly legalistic; simple cases are not being dealt with as quickly and
efficiently as they could be”.
The proposal
is that all cases should be dealt with at a level proportionate to their
complexity and value in a single jurisdiction. TLS has suggested four levels of
claim which should be dealt with flexibly depending on their intricacy and
their value. Each level would have different procedures and each case would be
allocated to the appropriate level through an allocation centre:
·
Level
1: Simple straight forward matters would be dealt with on a paper basis.
·
Level
2: Straight forward matters that need further probing.
·
Level
3: Most matters currently heard by the full ET (i.e. a Judge and two lay
members).
·
Level
4: Very high value claims would be heard by an experienced judge.
The purpose
of the proposed reform is to make an ET structure which is available to all.
TLS also hopes that the proposed structure may result in a restructuring of the
ET fee regime.
This is just a proposal at this stage and we will keep you
updated if matters develop.