By Backhouse Jones Solicitors

As promised by the Coalition government, they has been attempting to cut the red tape for UK businesses and therefore there are a number of proposed changes which could signal a new era for employers after the recent ’doom and gloom’ around the introduction of Agency Workers Regulations and the abolition of the default retirement age.

New Fees for tribunals from 2013

A fee for bringing an employment tribunal will be charged for the first time from April 2013, Chancellor George Osborne has announced.

The amount that will be charged and how it should be paid will be subject to consultation, although it is proposed that any fee payable will be refunded if the applicant is successful.

There is currently no fee for an applicant who wants to make an employment tribunal claim and this has led to an increased amount of vexatious claims that have no reasonable prospect of success. It is hoped that the introduction of this fee will reduce the amount of vexatious claims, however, it is proposed that the low-paid, or those without an income, may have the fee waived or reduced at the start of the process under the new scheme. We therefore need to wait and see whether this fee will have any impact on the amount of claims made to the Employment Tribunal.

New unfair dismissal qualifying period extended

It has also been confirmed that the qualifying period for an employee to bring a claim for unfair dismissal will be extended to two years following the proposed introduction of legislation which is due to come into force on 6 April, 2012. At present employees only need to have been working for one year. Under the new legislation, workers will still be able to take action immediately if they suffer discrimination, but by reducing the risk of tribunals for unfair dismissals the government hopes employers will feel more confident about hiring people.

Last year there were 236,000 employment tribunal claims, of which only some were unfair dismissal claims, with an average award for successful complainants of £8,900. In 2010-11 the cost to the taxpayer of running employment tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal in England, Wales and Scotland was more than £84 million, according to the Ministry of Justice.

The Treasury said that more than 80% of applications made to an employment tribunal did not result in a full hearing. Almost 40% of applicants withdrew their cases, but employers still had to pay legal fees in preparing a defence. More than 40% settled out of court and there was no record of how much applicants settled for.

The changes may have mixed results. Someone who has not worked long enough to claim unfair dismissal may claim they are a whistleblower or a victim of discrimination instead, causing employers even more hassle than before. However, people who have to pay to bring a claim may regard this as a significant disincentive to litigating a dispute

For further information contact Backhouse Jones Solicitors on 01254 828 300 or e-mail info@backhouses.co.uk.