Employment law tribunals ‘could result in company penalties’

Posted 02/02/2011

Companies that lose cases at employment law tribunals could be made to pay penalties under new government proposals.

The Resolving Workplace Disputes Consultation document was recently revealed by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and it suggests that fines should be imposed on firms that fail in their obligations to employees.

When employers lose their case, they could be made to pay the Exchequer half of the amount of compensation awarded to the individual, on top of the actual payout to the member of staff.

The minimum payment would be £100, with the maximum proposed to be £5,000, although this would be halved if the business owner paid within 21 days.

It is alleged that the potential changes will “allow the tribunal to send a clear message to an employer – and employers more generally – that they must comply with their employment law obligations”.

According to the Direct Gov website, an employment law tribunal can only decide on cases that are related to specific rights – for example, unfair dismissal – so it may be wise to seek legal representation in order to maximise the chances of success.