The last week has seen the release of two reports that could have a very significant impact on the shape of employment tribunals in years to come.

Review of Employment Tribunal Rules Published

Mr Justice Underhill has published the findings of his review of the employment tribunal rules and procedures.

The former President of the Employment Appeals Tribunal was asked to carry out the review in response to the Government's consultation on Resolving Workplace Disputes. His key recommendations include:

  • Implementation of a new set of rules: the current rules have been completely re-drafted to create a simpler, consolidated set of rules which will be more easily understood by all parties.
  • Introduction of a sifting stage: once the claim and response has been received, an employment judge will review the claim to consider directions and to consider strike-out of aspects lacking a reasonable prospect of success.
  • Preliminary hearings: case management discussions and pre-hearing reviews will be combined into a renamed preliminary hearing.
  • Revised ET1 and ET3: the forms have been redrafted but have not yet been made public.
  • Presidential Guidance: the President of the Tribunal will issue guidance on matters of practice and procedure, with the aim of giving all tribunal users a clearer picture of what to expect. However, the guidance will not be prescriptive and is not intended to harmonise practice between England and Wales and Scotland.
  • Timetables: tribunals will have the power to set and enforce timetables for oral evidence and submissions.
  • Withdrawals: a respondent will no longer need to apply to have a claim dismissed where it has been withdrawn by the claimant. 

Norman Lamb, the Employment Relations Minister, commented "Mr Justice Underhill has made a number of sensible, well thought of recommendations which we will consider", adding that the Government will announce its intentions "in due course".

Please click here for the full review.

Consultation on the introduction of fees in employment tribunals

At present, there is no "lodging-fee" required of a claimant who brings a claim to the employment tribunal. In early 2011 the Government announced its intention to start charging fees and launched a consultation paper to seek views on possible fee structures. The Ministry of Justice has now published the results of this consultation and proposes that from summer 2013 claimants will be charged fees ranging from £160 to issue a straightforward claim to £950 to run a hearing of a more complex case.

The response paper acknowledges that these fees will not cover the total cost of taking a claim to the employment tribunal, but it is hoped that the introduction of fees will incentivise early resolution of disputes and encourage employers and workers to mediate, rather than proceed to a full hearing.  The Government funded Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) will continue to provide a free dispute resolution service, with tribunals serving as a last resort for the more complex cases.

Although the claimant will in most cases be expected to pay any fees in advance of raising a claim, many claimants on low incomes will be exempt from the fees and the tribunal will have the power to order the unsuccessful party to reimburse the fees to the successful party.

For the full response to the consultation please click here.

This article was written for Law-Now, CMS Cameron McKenna's free online information service. To register for Law-Now, please go to www.law-now.com/law-now/mondaq

Law-Now information is for general purposes and guidance only. The information and opinions expressed in all Law-Now articles are not necessarily comprehensive and do not purport to give professional or legal advice. All Law-Now information relates to circumstances prevailing at the date of its original publication and may not have been updated to reflect subsequent developments.

The original publication date for this article was 16/07/2012.