Employment Tribunals

Last year Employment Tribunals accepted 132,577 applications; an increase of over 40,000 from 2 years ago.

These applications contained a total of 238,546 separate claims of which 44,491 were for unfair dismissal and 28,153 for sex discrimination,

“What’s your point”, do I hear you say?

Employers who do not invest in basic employment law training for their managers are making a big mistake. What they are effectively saying to their managers is “go and manage in that minefield”. The law is now so complicated good old-fashioned common sense is not enough.

There is no limit on compensation for any form of discrimination and now that discrimination on grounds of religion or belief, sexual orientation and age is unlawful, there are just too many mines in that field for untrained managers to be let out without protection.

As an employer, if you receive a claim from the Employment Tribunal do not shred it, stick it in a drawer until you feel better, put it in the “too difficult to deal with now” pile or leave it at the bottom of the tray. There are tight deadlines to be complied with. Decide early on if you have a good case or bad case. If you have a bad case, settle it. Fighting for the sake of it is a waste of time, money and legal fees. If you have a good case as an employer and you decide to fight, do it properly.

Let me summarise a recent case for you. An employee with more than a year’s service, visits his employer’s client in the course of his job and says “I’m thinking of setting up on my own, will you give me your work?” Poaching your employer’s clients while he is paying you is naughty and will normally justify the sack.

So, the employer gets to hear of the employee’s bad behaviour and sacks him.

A claim of unfair dismissal is made which the employer decides to defend. He instructs some consultant but about a week before the hearing, he decides to represent himself.

He does not do a good job and half-baked evidence of his employee’s behaviour is produced.

The employee wins and is awarded compensation.

The employer is no doubt very fed up. He starts collecting more evidence which shows that the employee really was guilty. He appeals but is told that he cannot produce the new evidence. He could have obtained it for the first hearing and ignorance of what was required was no excuse.

This means that the employee has had a wedge of money he does not deserve.

The moral of my story is play the game properly or not at all.

Good advice for employers and employees alike.