The Future of the Employment Tribunal
The Law Commission has recently published a report on employment law hearing structures, with the aim of addressing the arbitrary time limits in the employment tribunal (ET) and the jurisdictional conflicts that currently exist between it and the civil courts.
Whilst the report is heavy reading, the important proposals worthy of note are:
- There should be an expansion of the contractual jurisdiction of the ET to include ‘workers’;
- The contractual damages limit should be raised from £25,000 to £100,000, which would mean that more contractual claims can be dealt with in the ET;
- The standard time limit to bring an ET claim should be increased from three months to six months;
- The test used to determine whether to grant an extension of time to present any claim to the ET outside of the usual time limit should be the “just and equitable” test, as opposed to the (much more inflexible) “reasonably practicable” test that currently applies to claims such as unfair dismissal;
- There should be a list in the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court to deal with more complex matters (such as discrimination and restraint of trade).
Historically the Government has implemented the majority of proposals recommended by the Law Commission in their reports. With that said, whilst reform of the ET system is long overdue, it remains to be seen if any of these proposals will ever be implemented.
If you have any questions on the proposals or responding to an ET claim, please email or call our Employment Law team today on 0113 207 0000.
Partner and Head of Employment
Employment Law
PKelly@LawBlacks.com
0113 227 9249
@PaulLawBlacks
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Paul Kelly
