Employers have backed a call for stronger powers for tribunals to strike out weak or vexatious claims.
Three-quarters of more than 100 leading employers surveyed by DWF want employment tribunals to be tougher on spurious claims, while 89% want judges to request deposits from employees making a claim throughout the tribunal process not just at pre-hearing reviews. Only half of employers supported government plans to double the deposit to £1,000.
The Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) announced the second part of its ongoing employment law review last week. It proposes reducing the 90-day collective consultancy consultation periods, reforming the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/246) to make it less bureaucratic and capping discrimination compensation.
In January, BIS consulted on proposals to extend the qualifying period for unfair dismissal from one to two years and require pre-claim conciliation for all claims to be lodged with Acas.
More than half of those surveyed by DWF support early conciliation with ACAS, but two-thirds have never used workplace mediation to resolve disputes. Kirsty Rogers, employment partner at DWF, said: “Extending the length of the qualifying period for an employee to be able to bring a claim for unfair dismissal from one to two years would have limited positive effect, encouraging employees to pursue claims where there is no qualifying service. The right way forward is to strengthen the tribunal process by targeting vexatious claims whilst encouraging early and robust mediation either in the workplace or through ACAS or the tribunal.”
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