UK Employment Tribunal fees will help reduce litigation

The majority of respondents to a survey carried out by law firm, Eversheds, believe the introduction of Employment Tribunal fees with help reduce Tribunal litigation.

The survey canvassed the views of over 600 UK employers, across a range of industry sectors on proposals for reforming the UK’s Employment Tribunal system.

Key findings from the study indicate that:

• 79% of respondents feel that introducing Employment Tribunal fees will help reduce tribunal litigation.
• 63% of respondents thought the proposal to impose a significantly higher Tribunal fee for claims valued above £30,000 would be likely to deter some higher value claims.
• Nearly two-thirds (60%) of respondents supported the proposed fee structure for the Employment Appeal Tribunal and 77% thought that it would not deter them from appealing.
• Three-quarters (75%) of respondents support a shortening of the 90-day redundancy consultation period.

Geoffrey Mead, Partner at Eversheds, said:

“The results show strong support for a shortening of the 90-day redundancy consultation period and strong agreement that this will ultimately reduce Employment Tribunal litigation.”

The Government has announced a number of initiatives as part of its wider review of employment law. In particular it issued a ‘call for evidence’ seeking information and views before the end of this month on a possible shortening of the 90-day redundancy consultation period.

In addition, it announced a controversial change, whereby those using Employment Tribunals must contribute to the costs of their claims, by introducing fees for those who can afford to pay.

Geoffrey Mead continued:

“Shortening the 90-day redundancy consultation period received overwhelming support in the survey, with three-quarters of the respondents in favour. When asked to give their reasons, a recurring theme is a concern that a 90-day minimum can stretch out unnecessarily the uncertainty for employees and inject excessive delay at a time when employers may need to act with urgency to sustain a business.

“In addition, some respondents expressed the view that the 90-day period denies the reality that there are times, such as business and site closures, where consultation can make little difference to the end result. Amongst the minority of respondents, opinions reflected a view that 90 days is both fair and necessary to allow employee representatives to produce counter proposals and for employees to come to terms with the situation and to find alternative employment whilst still being paid.”