ACAS has just published a detailed research paper on the effect of its conciliation processes on Employment Tribunal claims. The paper contains a great deal of useful information. The report contains research particularly relevant to the debate about Employment Tribunal Fees.
The research asked a number of Claimants about their reason for withdrawing their Employment Tribunal cases before they were heard and they answered as follows:
Whilst the research is based on a fairly small sample, it is nonetheless interesting to employment and HR professionals. It is seems clear that the introduction of Employment Tribunal fees, has had a significant effect on the number of employment tribunal claims being made, as well as those being withdrawn before they reach a full hearing.
It is likely that the increased service requirement of two years’ before an employee can bring a standard unfair dismissal claim is also a factor in the reduction of Employment Tribunal claims over recent years.
The research paper can be found at: http://www.acas.org.uk/media/pdf/2/t/Evaluation-of-Acas-conciliation-in-Employment-Tribunal-applications-2016.pdf
Whilst Employment Tribunals have significantly decreased in number in recent years, employers can still end up in an Employment Tribunal when things go wrong. The headache caused when things go wrong, continues to be a significant drain on management time.
