Employment
Enforcement officers are to be drafted in to help individuals chase unpaid employment tribunal awards and out-of-court settlements.
Employers and employees who fail to pay employment tribunal awards will face the wrath of High Court enforcement officers under the plans, announced last week by justice secretary Jack Straw.
A Ministry of Justice report—Research into Enforcement of Employment Tribunal Awards in England and Wales—published last week, revealed 39% of people granted awards have not been paid, and only 53% have been paid in full. Respondents felt the court led enforcement process was “too much hassle”, “too expensive” or “too time consuming”.
Some 36% of claimants who had not received payment had attempted to enforce the award through the county court, and 40% of unpaid or part paid claimants did not know that the award could be enforced through the county court.
Non-payment tends to increase as the value of the award rises—26% of those awarded less than £500 received no payment, compared with 44% of those awarded more than £5,000.
The Ministry tried to tackle non-payers by extending a telephone helpline, at 0845 4568770, and launching two information leaflets advising on how to recover awards, on 1 April.
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