Posted: Friday, 4 January 2019 @ 13:43
It is well known that the number of cases taken to employment tribunals has fallen by 70% since fees were introduced.
A government review has found that the number of multiple claims taken to employment tribunals fell from 5,847 before fees were brought in to 1,740 in the year afterwards (2014-15) – a reduction of 70%.
The number of single cases fell by an equivalent amount.
It is correct that the introduction of fees (previously you paid nothing) has made it more difficult for employees to sue.
In addition, there are other variables at play which have always been there but if anything are more of factor due to decling living standards and high personal debt.
These are:
1 If you are an employee, you have limited resources as you often sue without any income coming in.
2 If you do get yourself a job,(which legally you should try to do) that will undermine the value of your claim as your compensation losses will stop.
3 Some of the employment law is extremely complex particularly if you are alleging discrimination. This means trials can be more unpredictable and lengthy.
4 You rarely get costs awards in Tribunals meaning that legal fees are not recoverable.
5 Even if an employee wins a case you do not automatically recover everything. If you are found to not have looked hard for a job, that reduces the award. If your conduct is deemed to have contributed to your dismissal that creates a problem.
So what to be done?
If you are to embark on suing an employer you have to have a pretty good case, pretty good negotiation skills and preferably insurance in place which addresses most of the above risks.