‘Inconsistent and Inefficient’ Tribunal System Concerns Employment Law Solicitors
Following a year of massive increases in the number of cases being accepted at employment tribunals, employment law solicitors and HR professionals have been expressing their concerns over the current Tribunal system. In the year to July 2010, there were 236,000 cases accepted to the Employment Tribunal, compared to only 151,000 the previous year. HR professionals claim to be struggling to cope with the increase in grievances whilst employment law solicitors are also expressing their worries.
Perhaps in response to high levels of redundancies forced on employers by the recession, Employment Tribunal cases are at the highest ever level. Now, the results of an ELA (Employment Lawyers Association) survey have expressed the mounting concerns of employment law solicitors.
The main concern that employment law solicitors across the country appeared to express was a lack of consistency with the Employment Tribunal’s approach, efficiency and quality in different parts of the UK. Survey responses indicated areas in need of improvement and suggested potential improvements which could save time and money for both claimants and employers.
Indeed, a massive 83% of the employment law solicitors consulted claimed that they did not believe that the approach of the Employment Tribunal across the country was consistent. Over 90% of respondents claimed that greater consistency would benefit all users of the Tribunal.
According to a huge proportion of employment law solicitors, the biggest problems with the current system are the time it takes and the costs it runs up. Many were in support of allowing large scale equal pay claims to be handled by one single Employment Tribunal office. Nearly four fifths also called for improved case tracking with the potential for online tracking, similar to that now used in low value road traffic accident claims. This, claim employment law solicitors, would improve efficiency and drive down costs for all concerned.
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