The Association of Recruitment Consultancies recently held a think-tank meeting to give input into the coalition’s employment tribunal reform consultation.
During this meeting senior recruitment professionals and other hirers unanimously rejected a proposal from the government to impose financial penalties on employers who breach employment laws.
On April 14th, the ARC brought together senior HR practitioners, as well as its own members, to put forward their concerns to a panel of representatives from the government. Included on the panel were the head of the Employment Tribunal Service and dispute resolution officials from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
The debate centred on eliminating the blackmail effect of employment tribunal claims. A lot of employers feel that they have to pay claimants even though the employment claim has little merit. It is hard to have a claim struck out and in nine out of ten cases settled through the mediation service ACAS, the employer has to pay compensation.
The government has proposed to raise the qualifying period before an employee can seek redress through a tribunal to two years instead of the current one. This proposal was rejected by the attendees and one HR director said if the measure was implemented it could actually lead to an increase in the number of discrimination cases.
Attendees came out in favour of measures that encourage mediation and the speedy resolution of disputes. Another proposal that would be welcomed involves setting up a vetting process to strike out weak cases or asking the claimant to pay a deposit before pursuing a claim.
The head of the Employment Tribunal System, Craig Robb, said that it was vital to hear the opinions of people who deal with tribunal claims when faced with a suite of proposals. The ARC meeting helped us gather evidence and develop technical details, he added.
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