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Employers beware….new employment tribunal changes

New employment tribunal laws have come into force. Employers face fines if they have poor workplace practices.

Employment tribunals will now be able to order an employer who loses a tribunal claim to pay a financial penalty. This means that if an employer loses a claim brought by a member of staff, or a former member of staff, and it is shown that the employer has essentially poor workplace practices; the employer could be fined up to £5000 on top of any retrospective wages that are due to the employee.

Also, Acas ‘early conciliation’ came into effect on April 6th; subject to transitional provisions. This means that a member of staff considering making a claim to the tribunal will be required to contact Acas first. Acas will then offer ‘early conciliation’ in an attempt to resolve the dispute quickly and cost-effectively.

Previous Government measures include; the introduction last year of fees for staff contemplating taking their employer to a tribunal. This has led to a 79% reduction in the number of applications to tribunals but has been severely criticised by the unions.

The TUC stated; the fines would create a welcome new incentive for employers to respect the rights of their staff rather than risk increased financial penalties.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by The Business Medic .