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18 February 2021 / John Bowers KC
Issue: 7921 / Categories: Features , In Court , Tribunals , Employment
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Employment tribunals: A one stop shop?

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Is an employment tribunal a court & does it matter, asks John Bowers QC
  • Irwell v Watson; tribunals as a one stop shop.

Employment tribunals (ETs) were intended, when first introduced in 1963, to be easily accessible, simple and straightforward, but have gradually taken on more of the appearance of courts. There was a somewhat naive belief in the beginning that justice in such tribunals could be achieved without the parties needing lawyers. The presiding officer was called a chair, but is now a judge. And tribunals of course now deal with cases of great complexity, recondite legal areas and with millions at stake. A continuing fundamental difference from a court however, is that the tribunal has no inherent jurisdiction but only what the dizzying array of statutes provide them.

There may be several reasons why this is important. That may be for the purposes of contempt of court as in AG v BBC [1978] 1 WLR 477, [1978] 2 All ER 731. In Peach

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