Overhaul for tribunals?

The Law Society has proposed an overhaul of the employment tribunal structure, amid mounting disquiet over the impact of fees on potential claimants.

The number of disputes proceeding to tribunal has dropped by 60% since the introduction of fees, prompting widespread concern that potential claimants can’t afford fees of up to £1,200. The Ministry of Justice is currently reviewing their impact.

This week, the Law Society proposed a new tribunal structure for employment claims, where: claims are dealt with flexibly; disputes are dealt with in a single jurisdiction consisting of four levels; simple cases, such as handling unpaid wages claims, are dealt with on a paper basis in level one; and more complex cases, such as multi-strand discrimination cases, are heard by an experienced judge in level four.

Law Society President Jonathan Smithers says: “Our proposed system would be easy for the public to use, as there would be a single entry point, and make sure that cases are dealt with in the most appropriate way.

The Court of Appeal has rejected a challenge by Unison against the legality of the fees (R (oao Unison) v Lord Chancellor [2015] EWCA Civ 935). Last week, the Scottish government pledged to scrap the fees.

Writing in NLJ this week, Stephen Levinson, consultant solicitor, Keystone Law, discusses the impact of tribunal fees, noting that, in a recent Employment Law Association survey of its members, more than one third said legal expenses insurance was an increasingly important factor in whether a legal claim proceeds. He writes that the insurance market may respond to this in due course, and union membership could also provide a cheap form of legal insurance.