A new round of recruitment to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) was launched by the Government yesterday.

The Government is planning to appoint ten new lay members to the EAT. Lay members have an important role to play in reviewing the decisions of employment tribunals and in interpreting legislation across a wide area of employment rights.

Those appointed will hear cases in London or Edinburgh. Appeals will also be heard occasionally in Wales and some of those selected as lay members will have the ability to hear cases in the Welsh language if required.

Announcing the recruitment drive, Employment Relations Minister Alan Johnson said, “Employment tribunals and the Appeal Tribunal play a vital role in the achievement of dispute resolution and fairness in the workplace. We look forward to recruiting a fresh tranche of high-quality and committed lay members to the Appeal Tribunal.”

Recruitment is by open competition and appointments made on merit. Applications are being invited from those with a wide range of workplace experience, from women, ethnic minorities and disabled people to ensure that membership of the EAT reflects the multi-cultural nature of UK society.

Candidates will have had employment relations experience at a company director, TU National Officer or equivalent level during the last five years, and be under 62 years old. Experience of other tribunals or judicial work, and relevant professional qualifications would all be helpful though not essential. Lay members must operate strict neutrality when hearing cases.

The newly-recruited lay members will take up their appointments on 1 April 2002. A further exercise – to recruit new lay members to the Employment Tribunals themselves – will be launched in the new year.