Pictured: Freeth Cartwright's Birmingham employment partner
Rebecca Sawbridge
Employment tribunal claims are set to fall by around 2,000 a
year with an annual saving to British businesses of around £6
million following the Government's announcement to introduce two
key employment law reforms.
The first of these changes, which is set to be introduced in
April 2012, will increase the qualifying period of service for
employees when bringing an unfair dismissal claim from one to two
years. In addition, from April 2013, employees will be required to
pay a fee if they wish to bring a tribunal claim.
Rebecca Sawbridge, employment partner at the Birmingham office
of leading Midlands law firm Freeth Cartwright, said: "The increase
in the qualifying period of service is intended to give businesses
greater confidence in hiring new staff. It also aims to bolster the
economy and generate growth by giving employers a longer period of
time to assess an employee's suitability for the job.
"The introduction of fees is particularly welcome news for
businesses. They should help to weed out claims which are
time-consuming and costly for employers to defend and should bring
the tribunal system into line with the family and civil courts.
"The level of the proposed fees has not yet been announced and
will be subject to further consultation beginning in November 2011,
although reports suggest that there may be an initial fee to lodge
the claim and a further fee once the case has been listed for
hearing."
Response to these reforms has been mixed. The CBI has described
the new measures as a positive step, whilst the unions have accused
the Government of eroding workers' rights for little economic
gain.
According to Rebecca Sawbridge, one of the key concerns arising
from these changes is whether they will, in actuality, effect a
reduction in tribunal claims.
She said: "Whilst the increase in the qualifying period to bring
an unfair dismissal claim is welcome news for employers, there is a
risk that this will lead to a rise in employees bringing other
tribunal claims. Discrimination and whistle blowing claims, for
example, do not require a minimum qualifying period of service.
They are also usually complex, time consuming, expensive to defend
and have uncapped compensation, so the overall reduction of
tribunal claims may not be as substantial as currently
anticipated."