Employment Disputes to be Settled at Work, Not a Tribunal

Plans for a radical overhaul of dispute resolution procedures were published yesterday (9 July 2003) by the UK's Employment Relations Minister. Employers and employees will be required to follow a process to ensure that disputes are discussed at work and relieve the burden of employment tribunals.

The three-step process outlined today will require:

- the problem to be set out in writing with full details provided to the other party;
- both parties to meet to discuss the problem; and
- an appeal to be arranged if requested.

Use of these procedures is set out in draft regulations, flowing from the Employment Act 2002. They require all employers to have procedures in place to deal with disputes by October 2004, after which, in most circumstances:

- employees will not be able to make claims to employment tribunals about grievances unless they have previously raised a formal grievance at work; but
- employers who dismiss staff without using the statutory procedure face an automatic finding of unfair dismissal against them.

Employment Minister Gerry Sutcliffe said:

"Disputes at work are expensive, stressful and disruptive for both employers and employees alike. But early, constructive discussion can produce solutions before problems escalate and working relationships breakdown.

"We want to establish new minimum standards that will help employers and employees resolve disputes before it is too late. We are consulting early on these draft regulations to allow businesses plenty of time to adjust to these changes."

Many employers already have fair and comprehensive disciplinary and grievance procedures and will not be affected by the proposed regulations. The measures announced today will help employers without procedures, often smaller businesses, to solve disputes when they arise.

The public consultation on the draft dispute resolution regulations will close on 29 October 2003.

The consultation document can be downloaded as an 85-page PDF from: www.dti.gov.uk/er/individual/DRcondoc.pdf

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