Breaking News in the world of Employment Law
Chancellor George Osborne yesterday announced two important changes, intended to reduce the number of employment tribunal claims and boost the economy. That is the announced intention, in any event! We are not so sure it will work...
First, the qualifying period for unfair dismissal will be increased from one year to two years with effect from 1 April 2012.
Second, fees will be introduced for tribunal claims (it would appear) from 2013. From the sketchy information currently available, it appears the following fee structure will apply (note, full details are yet to be released):
- upfront fee of £250 payable by the Claimant when lodging ET1;
- further fee of £1,000 payable by Claimant when the hearing is listed;
- higher fees if the claim is for over £30,000;
- fee to be refunded if Claimant wins, and forfeited if they lose
- fees to be waived for those with no money
The devil is always going to be in the detail. If the test for a fee-waiver is simply being unemployed, then most ex-employees will automatically qualify for the waiver and indeed might be encouraged to immediately put in a claim before they find a job elsewhere. And will there be satellite growth of litigation disputing the financial means of a claimant? Those acting for employees will no doubt be brushing up on their knowledge of the Equality Act, whistle-blowing and seeking ever more complex (and expensive) ways of getting around the two year rule...
So to the extent that the developments represent bad news for employment lawyers, fear not; only time will tell if it represents good news for employers.
For more information about LP's Employment (Employer) team click here .
