Asked by: Lord Goodman of Wycombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the average length of proceedings in cases of unfair dismissal being heard by employment tribunals in each of the past five years.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
HMCTS does not hold separate data on the number of wrongful dismissal claims.
The quarterly average length of proceedings for unfair dismissal claims can be found in the published statistics: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunal-statistics-quarterly-january-to-march-2021.
These are only available until April 2021. Publication of Employment Tribunal timeliness information ceased from April 2021 when the jurisdiction moved to an interim database with limited management information. Employment Tribunals are now in the process of transitioning to a new case management system and work is in hand as part of the HMCTS data strategy to reintroduce the publication of timeliness information at the end of this calendar year.
Several measures have been taken to reduce the average waiting time for a first hearing in Employment Tribunals including the recruitment of additional judges. To address growing demand, the government invested £2.85 million in December 2022 to allow up to 1,700 more cases to come before judges by the end of March 2023. We also created a virtual region of fee-paid judges to hear remote cases from any region.
Additionally, the Judicial Review and Courts Act transfers Employment Tribunal rule-making powers to the Tribunal Procedures Committee. This independent, judge-led committee will allow the Tribunal to respond more swiftly and flexibly to the challenges it faces through operational changes and rulemaking. This measure will also allow the judiciary to manage their workloads more flexibly, maximising the capacity of the Employment Tribunal
Asked by: Lord Goodman of Wycombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the average length of proceedings in cases of wrongful dismissal being heard by employment tribunals in each of the past five years.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
HMCTS does not hold separate data on the number of wrongful dismissal claims.
The quarterly average length of proceedings for unfair dismissal claims can be found in the published statistics: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunal-statistics-quarterly-january-to-march-2021.
These are only available until April 2021. Publication of Employment Tribunal timeliness information ceased from April 2021 when the jurisdiction moved to an interim database with limited management information. Employment Tribunals are now in the process of transitioning to a new case management system and work is in hand as part of the HMCTS data strategy to reintroduce the publication of timeliness information at the end of this calendar year.
Several measures have been taken to reduce the average waiting time for a first hearing in Employment Tribunals including the recruitment of additional judges. To address growing demand, the government invested £2.85 million in December 2022 to allow up to 1,700 more cases to come before judges by the end of March 2023. We also created a virtual region of fee-paid judges to hear remote cases from any region.
Additionally, the Judicial Review and Courts Act transfers Employment Tribunal rule-making powers to the Tribunal Procedures Committee. This independent, judge-led committee will allow the Tribunal to respond more swiftly and flexibly to the challenges it faces through operational changes and rulemaking. This measure will also allow the judiciary to manage their workloads more flexibly, maximising the capacity of the Employment Tribunal
Asked by: Lord Goodman of Wycombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce legislation to give employment tribunals jurisdiction to apply set-off principles in an unauthorised deduction from wages claim under Part II of the Employment Rights Act 1996, limited to established liabilities for quantified amounts and to extinguishing the Part II claim, as recommended by the Law Commission
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government continues to look closely at these important issues. While we have noted the recommendations of the Law Commission, any decision to change current procedures must fully consider the impact this will have on the tribunal system, which remains under pressure, as well as the effect on Acas, who are responsible for conducting early conciliation.
Asked by: Lord Goodman of Wycombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to ensure that the maximum award applying to Employment Tribunal claims brought under the Employment Relations Act 1999 (Blacklists) Regulations 2010 is at least increased to, and maintained at, the level of the maximum award for unfair dismissal under section 124(1ZA) of the Employment Rights Act 1996, as recommended by the Law Commission.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government continues to look closely at these important issues. While we have noted the recommendations of the Law Commission, any decision to change current procedures must fully consider the impact this will have on the tribunal system, which remains under pressure, as well as the effect on Acas, who are responsible for conducting early conciliation.
Asked by: Lord Goodman of Wycombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce legislation to provide employment tribunals with the power to determine whether an employer has deducted the correct amount of money from an employee’s or worker’s wages where a Tribunal finds that one or more of the “excepted deductions” listed in section 14(1) to 14(6) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 apply.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government continues to look closely at these important issues. While we have noted the recommendations of the Law Commission, any decision to change current procedures must fully consider the impact this will have on the tribunal system, which remains under pressure, as well as the effect on Acas, who are responsible for conducting early conciliation.
Asked by: Lord Goodman of Wycombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce legislation to give employment tribunals jurisdiction to hear complaints by workers that they are working hours in excess of the maximum working time limits contained in regulations 4(1), 5A(1), 6(1) and 6A of the Working Time Regulations 1998.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government continues to look closely at these important issues. While we have noted the recommendations of the Law Commission, any decision to change current procedures must fully consider the impact this will have on the tribunal system, which remains under pressure, as well as the effect on Acas, who are responsible for conducting early conciliation.
Asked by: Lord Goodman of Wycombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce legislation to give employment tribunals jurisdiction to hear claims of unlawful deductions from wages that relate to unquantified sums.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government continues to look closely at these important issues. While we have noted the recommendations of the Law Commission, any decision to change current procedures must fully consider the impact this will have on the tribunal system, which remains under pressure, as well as the effect on Acas, who are responsible for conducting early conciliation.
Asked by: Lord Goodman of Wycombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for increasing the £25,000 limit on employment tribunals’ contractual jurisdiction in respect of claims by employees to £100,000, and thereafter maintaining it at parity with the financial limit upon bringing contractual claims in the county court.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government continues to look closely at these important issues. While we have noted the recommendations of the Law Commission, any decision to change current procedures must fully consider the impact this will have on the tribunal system, which remains under pressure, as well as the effect on Acas, who are responsible for conducting early conciliation.
Asked by: Lord Goodman of Wycombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for giving employment tribunals jurisdiction to determine claims and counterclaims for damages or sums due in respect of the provision by an employer of living accommodation.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government continues to look closely at these important issues. While we have noted the recommendations of the Law Commission, any decision to change current procedures must fully consider the impact this will have on the tribunal system, which remains under pressure, as well as the effect on Acas, who are responsible for conducting early conciliation.
Asked by: Lord Goodman of Wycombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to extend the time limits for bringing claims before employment tribunals.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government continues to look closely at these important issues. While we have noted the recommendations of the Law Commission, any decision to change current procedures must fully consider the impact this will have on the tribunal system, which remains under pressure, as well as the effect on Acas, who are responsible for conducting early conciliation.