Law on unfair dismissal set to change
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14 December 2011
The qualifying period for bringing an
unfair dismissal claim against employers is set to rise to two years,
potential claimants will also have to pay fees if they plan to bring
cases to court.
In October this year the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osbourne,
gave details of the changes at the conservative party conference. The
new plans are apparently a demonstration of the government's intent to
cut the burden of red tape on businesses and thereby help create more
jobs.
The main proposals are:
- The qualifying period for an unfair
dismissal claim will rise from one to two years from the 1st of April
2012.
- An upfront fee of £250 is payable when
lodging a claim, a further fee of £1000 if the claim is accepted into
the system. And potentially higher fees for claims of more than
£30,000. Fees will however be refunded if a claimant wins their case.
Employers bodies such as the CBI (Britain's top business lobbying
organisation) welcome the proposals and see the extension of the
qualifying period as a positive step that will give smaller businesses
more confidence to hire and expand.
On the other hand the "voice of Britain at work", the TUC, stated the
fees will in particular affect low paid workers. According to a survey
of employment tribunal applicants carried out in 2008, nearly 70% of
claimants had average or below average earnings and 35% earned less
than £15,000.
The introduction of the fees may make trade unions think twice before
funding a potential claim and may even deter many would-be claimants
from making a claim at all. As the government plans to cut the legal
aid budget it remains to be seen how the government plans to help
claimants that cannot afford lodgement and legal fees, as the
likelihood is that many dismissed staff will not have the finances to
bring a claim.
If you have an employment issue, then contact our Enployment
Department and speak to one of our solicitors who will be happy to
assist you.
Rehana Ali is a Paralegal at
Lawdit Solicitors, who assists Inam Ali, a Solicitor specialising in
Commercial and Intellectual Property Law. Both can be
contacted via email: info@lawdit.co.uk
About the Author
Lawdit
Solicitors offer services and advice for litigation,
commercial contracts, Intellectual Property and IT legal agreements. We
are experts in commercial law with a heavy emphasis on Intellectual
Property, Internet and e-commerce law. Lawdit is a member of the
International Trademark Association, the Solicitors' Association of
Higher Court Advocates and we are the appointed Solicitors to the
largest webdesign association in the world, the United Kingdom Website
Designers Association.
