The publishing of the Tribunal Annual Statistics for 2009/2010 has highlighted the increasing number of employers falling foul of employment law claims:
- 56% increase from 2008/2009 in number of claims accepted by Employment Tribunals, which are now at their highest ever level. This is mainly attributable to multiple claims (i.e. claims by groups of employees, such as for equal pay, TUPE, collective redundancies etc).
- 14% increase in number of single claims by Employment Tribunals. (This is a more relevant figure for the actual increase in employment law claims).
- 17% increase in number of tribunal claims associated with unfair dismissal, breach of contract and redundancy - likely to be caused by the economic recession.
The results clearly show a rise in the number of claims being lodged with the Employment Tribunal.
This rise can undoubtedly be attributed to the economic downturn and employers’ realisation that they need to tackle such matters as underperforming members of staff in order to preserve their economic well being.
However, this is exacerbated by the fact that employees are more aware of their legal rights and are not reluctant to raise proceedings to enforce these rights. Even if employers are able to successfully defend the claims brought against them, the claim may mean significant waste of management time and expense (and in most cases legal costs cannot be recovered from the other side). Employees may represent themselves, or arrange “no win no fee” representation, so they have nothing to lose.
There is much to be said, particularly in these difficult economic times, for going the extra mile to ensure that employees are treated fairly and reasonably to minimise the risk of disgruntled employees and, therefore, minimise the risk of claims. Certainly, employers should ensure that they have comprehensive and up to date policies and procedures in place within their organisation. They should also ensure those members of their organisation who will implement the policies are properly trained to use them - to avoid becoming a statistic in the future...
Contact:
Douglas Strang