The 2004 employment dispute resolution procedures could be abolished under new government proposals.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) launched a root-and-branch review last week, following the independent review Better Dispute Resolution by Michael Gibbons, which was published on the same day.
Gibbons, chair of Hertfordshire Family Mediation Service, commends a “greatly increased use of mediation” in employment disputes, and he notes: “Employment tribunals process a wide variety of claims, from simple wage claims worth less than £100 to very complex discrimination cases with unlimited damages.
“Yet all cases that do not settle and are not resolved go to a judicial hearing. The costs to parties and the state can be highly disproportionate to the value of the claim.”
The current statutory procedures, which have proved unpopular with many employment lawyers, have had “unintended consequences that outweighed their benefits”, according to Gibbons.
The DTI wants to introduce a more streamlined dispute process.
Proposals under consideration in Success at Work: Resolving Disputes in the Workplace include:
- repealing the statutory dismissal and grievance procedures;
- abolishing Acas fixed conciliation procedures; and
- providing free mediation services
