The
work tribunal system is too costly and too adversarial, and is leading to a
rise in the number of dubious employment claims, according to research by the
CBI.
The
latest annual CBI-Pertemps
employment trends survey,
published today, shows 69 per cent of firms believe the number of weak and
vexatious employment tribunal claims has increased over recent years.
The
survey of more than 500 firms adds that 44 per cent of companies believe the
current employment tribunal system is ineffective.
Almost
a third (30 per cent) of these firms criticise the system for being too costly
and 50 per cent say it is too adversarial.
From
1 October, employees must discuss grievances with employers in the workplace
before resorting to the courts.
But
44 per cent of companies surveyed said this would fail to reduce the number of
tribunal claims. And firms fear the problem will be exacerbated by new
legislation on age discrimination due in October 2006, leading to an
"explosion" of unnecessary tribunal cases.
John
Cridland, CBI deputy
director-general, said a ‘have-a-go mentality’ was fuelling a surge in dubious
employment tribunal cases that was costly and time-consuming.
“With
the compensation culture spiralling out of control, companies do not have
confidence in the current tribunal system and are sceptical about the
difference that government reforms will make,” he said.
"In
fact, firms fear that legislation to be introduced on age discrimination will
make matters worse, sparking an explosion of employment tribunal cases. In the current compensation culture, there is
a risk that people will take advantage of a lack of legal clarity."
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