Nothing like a bit of lawyer-bashing to win over the hearts and minds of the British public...
Are employers being held to ransom by the employment tribunal system, asks Jon Robins
Nothing like a bit of lawyer-bashing to win over the hearts and minds of the British public, at least that’s how it seemed with last month’s proposals to reform the employment tribunals. Sample responses to the consultation paper include: “Too many employers are being held to ransom in employment tribunals by vexatious employees and ‘no win, no fee’ lawyers”, and “for far too long the tribunal system has put the interest of lawyers above those of employers and employees”. These were the views of the Institute of Directors (IoD) and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) respectively.
The business secretary Vince Cable told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that “the fear” of tribunals was “a major impediment” for businesses recovering from the economic downturn and hiring workers. Listeners were told tribunal claims rose to 236,000 last year (“…a record rise of 56% on 2009…”) and that companies spent almost £4,000 on average to defend themselves
