The Employment Tribunal
My advice to managers who want to understand employment law is to spend a day at the Employment Tribunal in Bristol because this is the place where individual employment law disputes are ultimately argued out and resolved. More than half of the work of the Lemon & Co Employment Law Department is involved in bringing and defending claims to the Employment Tribunal.
The original plan at the creation of the Employment Tribunals was that they would represent a cheap and informal method of resolving disputes but, given the increasing complexity of employment law, the Tribunal process has become more formal and legalistic. It is certainly a challenging, and even scary, experience for those employees and managers who have to attend and give evidence.
A typical claim for unfair dismissal or discrimination will be dealt with over the course of one whole day and the witnesses for both sides will be subjected to rigorous cross-examination by lawyers and by the Employment Tribunal. In preparation for the hearing, the parties will have to put together an agreed bundle of documents and exchange written witness statements.
The key to success generally lies in careful preparation and a good understanding of the relevant issues. In practice, most cases turn on a conflict of evidence and it becomes apparent during the course of the day that not all the witnesses can be telling the whole truth! The Employment Tribunal generally have to determine matters of evidence on the balance of probability which means that they have to decide which party's account of events is more likely to be correct.
There are 3 Tribunal members sitting on claims for unfair dismissal and discrimination and the leading person is the chairperson who will be a full time or part time employee of the Employment Tribunal Service. The chairs are not generally known for their patience and witnesses and lawyers who are not well prepared or fail to directly address the relevant issues will often be subject to some fairly telling criticisms.
In all the circumstances, it is not surprising that many companies would prefer to avoid time at the Employment Tribunal and will seek to reach a negotiated settlement of claims. Having said this, given careful preparation and good presentation on the day, the Employment Tribunal can generally be relied upon to reach decisions that are reasonably predictable by experienced employment lawyers.
Note: This article gives a general overview only and cannot be relied upon in any particular case. It does not constitute legal advice. Specific legal advice must always be considered.
For further information contact Paul Archer or Helen Climance at Lemon & Co, Solicitors on 01793 527141 alternatively by email on paul.archer@lemon-co.co.uk or Helen.Climance@lemon-co.co.uk
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<p><strong><a href="http://www.lemon-co.co.uk/article_employment-tribunals.php">The Employment Tribunal </a></strong><br />
The original plan at the creation of the Employment Tribunals was that they would represent a cheap and informal method of resolving disputes but, given the increasing complexity of employment law, the Tribunal process has become more formal and legalistic...</p>