Employment
tribunals should come under the control of the Lord Chancellor’s Department, a
review of the tribunal system has recommended.
Currently
the DTI has administrative control of employment tribunals but this would be transferred
to the LCD if proposals outlined by Sir Andrew Leggatt in the review’s report
are approved.
The
report highlights the fact that the DTI is responsible for the policy and
legislation under which cases are brought and appears as one of the parties
before employment tribunals in around 1,000 cases a year.
The
review also calls on the Government to regulate the activities of employment
advisers to ensure that employees are given good advice, both to protect them
and to prevent weak cases going to tribunal.
The report rejects the notion of an "employment court"
system to handle claims arising from employment disputes, but does suggest that
there may be a benefit in transferring employment-related claims such as personal
injury sustained at work to employment tribunals.
Legal aid should not be extended to employment tribunals,
the report advises.
The
consultation runs until November 2001 and the Government is to announce its
final decisions next summer.
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www.lcd.gov.uk
www.tribunals-review.org.uk
By
Ben Willmott
