The employment tribunal systems must be radically overhauled as it is now “broken” and no longer offers value for money, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
A survey undertaken by the HR body revealed that just under seven out of 10 employers believe they have no effective protection against employees taking unjustifiable claims to a tribunal.
A further three out of five said that they had been involved in an unfair dismissal case, which had had a discrimination claim tagged on the back of it in the hope of winning more compensation. Some 55% attested to being subject to malicious complaints against their organisation.
Mike Emmott, the CIPD’s employee relations adviser, said: “The real problem is that the employment system itself is broken and its costs and benefits are wholly out of line. The government needs to take a radical look at the existing machinery for protecting employment rights.”
The number of tribunal claims had increased in recent years and employers believed they had no protection against weak or speculative claims. But recent plans outlined by the government to double the current one year ceiling that staff had to serve before being able to claim unfair dismissal would have “only limited impact” on volumes, he added. This was because many cases were linked to discrimination claims, which could be made from day one of employment.
As a result, 52% of employers now thought that unfair dismissal laws should be changed to make it easier for them to fire staff. About the same number said they supported more effective case management to identify ‘vexatious’ claims, while exactly half wanted tribunals to award costs against losing claimants.
There was also a vote of no confidence in the current dispute resolution system, however. Seven out of 10 employers said they used compromise agreements to avoid the risk of tribunal claims, with just over half indicating that such usage had risen in the last two years. But just under half of those questioned had also increased their use of mediation services over the last 24 months.
