Firms 'avoiding work tribunals'

Former FA secretary Faria Alam lost her high-profile tribunal this month

Firms have lost faith in the employment tribunal system following regulation changes and too many now settle cases they could have won, the CBI has said.

The number of tribunals has fallen 25% since last year's new regulations.

The CBI found half of 450 firms polled saw the process as ineffective and "too adversarial", while many had concerns about its complexity and possible cost.

The Department of Trade and Industry is to review the changes next year, and said arrangements could be simplified.

The CBI found one in five businesses thought tribunals damaged rather than aided employee relations.

'Undermining confidence'

The study also found that every one of the firms with less than 50 workers had settled a claim, despite around half being advised they could win at tribunal.

The business group also reported there had been a rise in weak and vexatious cases.

It has been often commented that the new regulations are overly complicated Department of Trade and Industry

CBI Deputy Director General John Cridland said: "The new tribunal procedures are falling short.

"They may be having an impact on absolute numbers but are unnecessarily complicated and run the risk of undermining business confidence."

A Department of Trade and Industry spokesman said it would work with employers and the TUC on next year's review.

"It has been often commented that the new regulations are overly complicated and it is fair to say that we shall be seeking to simplify these wherever possible to introduce greater clarity and ease of use," he said.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: "The CBI should not pre-empt the outcomes of this review before in-depth research has been conducted on how the procedures are operating in practice."

He also said: "The suggestion that the tribunal system is clogged up with vexatious claims is ill-founded."