Proposed new Employment Tribunal rules

22 August 2012 | David Widdowson

A new set of rules has been proposed designed to streamline the operation of Employment Tribunals.

The proposed rules

Mr Justice Underhill, the former president of the EAT, has issued his new draft set of Employment Tribunal procedure rules.

His main focus is on robust case management and he has proposed greater involvement by the Employment Judge at an earlier stage in a case in order to consider directions and suggest which claims might benefit from a strike-out in the event the claim or defence have no reasonable prospects of success.

He has suggested ‘presidential guidance’ whereby two Employment Tribunal Presidents issue guidance on ‘matters of practice’ in an attempt to help achieve consistency between different Employment Tribunal regions and judges.

He has also expanded the provisions regarding restricted reporting and anonymity orders to make these orders more flexible and to seek to balance freedom of expression against a request for privacy.

Perhaps most importantly for the successful party he has proposed the removal of the £20,000 cap beyond which costs currently have to be referred to the County Court and he explains that this “should make the process simpler for beneficiaries of such awards”.

Commentary

The proposed rules are welcome and seem sensible but we must now wait to hear if the Government intends to implement any of them. The lack of standard procedures (for example in the use of case management discussions and standard directions) has long been a problem for users with different regions using different procedures. Many of the criticisms levelled at the Tribunal system could be solved by a consistency of approach across the board. BIS has announced that a formal consultation on the draft rules will take place ‘later this year’ so it may be some time before the Government responds. We will keep you updated.

Resources

The review of the draft rules

For further information or to discuss the issues raised, please contact Emma Clark or David Widdowson on +44 (0)20 3051 5711.

Disclaimer

Content is for general information purposes only. The information provided is not intended to be comprehensive and it does not constitute or contain legal or other advice. If you require assistance in relation to any issue please seek specific advice relevant to your particular circumstances. In particular, no responsibility shall be accepted by the authors or by Abbiss Cadres LLP for any losses occasioned by reliance on any content appearing on or accessible from this article. For further legal information click here.

Copying

If you would like to copy or otherwise reproduce this article then you may do so provided that: (1) any such copy or reproduction is for your own personal use or if it is made available to any third party it is done so on a free of charge basis; and (2) the article is reproduced in full together with the contact details, disclaimer and any logos as they appear on each article.

Disclaimer

Content is for general information purposes only. The information provided is not intended to be comprehensive and it does not constitute or contain legal or other advice. If you require assistance in relation to any issue please seek specific advice relevant to your particular circumstances. In particular, no responsibility shall be accepted by the authors or by Abbiss Cadres LLP for any losses occasioned by reliance on any content appearing on or accessible from this article. For further legal information click here.

The author

David Widdowson
Senior Consultant
Employment Law
Mediation
Business Coaching
D: +44 (0) 207 036 8388
T: +44 (0) 203 051 5711
F: +44 (0) 203 051 5712

Also by the author

3 March 2021
Alternatives to Redundancies | Employers & HR Specialists
3 March 2021
UK Budget 2021: Furlough Scheme extended until September 2021
22 February 2021
UK Supreme Court Ruling – Uber Drivers Entitled to Workers’ Rights
Subscribe to our newsletter
Stay up to the minute on our latest news and insights?
International reach

We have helped clients meet their HR needs in over 70 countries across five continents.