Gordon Brown’s Budget plan to cut the cost of employment tribunals meets with caution from law firm

Predicted moves to cut the high cost of employment tribunals for businesses in tomorrow’s Budget should be met with some caution, law firm Hammonds has warned.

Chancellor Gordon Brown is expected to announce measures that aim to settle disputes between employers and employees at an earlier stage.

The move follows a recent Department of Trade and Industry investigation into tribunals which found that improving dispute resolution and other employment-related conflict could save businesses £400m a year.

However, Hammonds is advising businesses to meet this news with caution because previous attempts have failed to reduce tribunal costs.

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Sue Nickson, head of human capital at the firm, said: “The last attempt by the government to reduce the number of tribunal claims appears to have been an abject disaster, with the number of tribunal claims now standing at the same level as before the statutory dispute procedures were introduced.

“With previous attempts at tackling this issue yet to cut the mustard businesses should not bank on reduced tribunal costs should this predicted announcement be made on Wednesday.”