header-logo header-logo

Book review: Struck Out: Why Employment Tribunals fail workers and what can be done

14 June 2012 / Michael Salter , Chris Bryden
Issue: 7518 / Categories: Blogs
printer mail-detail

Struck Out hits the market at an opportune time.

 

Author: David Renton 
Publisher: Pluto Press (8 Mar 2012)
ISBN: 9780745332550 Price: £19.99

Reform of the tribunal system has never been more topical, and practitioners are acutely aware of the frustrations their clients frequently feel at all stages of the litigation process. 

As its name indicates the book takes an unashamedly claimant-focused assessment of the employment justice system in England and Wales, starting with the foundation of tribunals, progressing through specific topics such as equal pay and agency workers, and, after a nod towards human rights law, and the unions, ends with a suggested handful of reforms.
 
A troublesome adolescent

Perhaps unconsciously, the author hits upon what appears to be the real issue in the next decade: what does the tribunal service want to be? As with any troublesome adolescent the answer is not clear. Does it want to be a court with
If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
Boris Johnson’s 2019 attempt to shut down Parliament remains a constitutional cautionary tale. The move, framed as a routine exercise of the royal prerogative, was in truth an extraordinary effort to sideline Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC dissects how prorogation was wrongly assumed to be beyond judicial scrutiny, only for the Supreme Court to intervene unanimously
back-to-top-scroll