With the Employment Tribunal Bill recently abolishing legal fees for employees, SMEs are likely to see a significant increase in employment claims. Between January to March 2017 alone there was a 4% increase in employment tribunal applications. For small to medium businesses, this could mean a substantial financial loss to the business - win or lose. Our infographic breaks down the factors you might not have considered that could contribute to your tribunal costs.

1. Anup-to-datefullycompliantemployeehandbook,clearlycommunicatedtoemployees,
canpreventaHRsituationescalatingtoanemploymenttribunal.
Intheeventthereisaclaim therightHRpoliciesinyourhandbook
canhelpensureyoucanrobustlydefendyourcase.
Theycanmakethedifferencebetweenadismissalbeingfairorunfair!
HOW CANWEHELP?
INSURANCE
BecauseYourHR.spaceguaranteesyouwillalwaysbeuptodateandthatinformationiscommunicated
toemployees,youcanpurchaseanadditionalemploymentprotectioninsurancethatwillcover
legalfeesandanycompensationawarded.
YourHR.spacewithinsuranceisthereforeatotalriskmanagementsolution.
*Statisticsfrom:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/621515/tribunal-grc-statistics-q4-2016-2017.pdf
http://www2.cipd.co.uk/pm/peoplemanagement/b/weblog/archive/2015/08/04/failed-tribunal-claim-still-costs-employer-163-63-000-foi-request-reveals.aspx
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Communicationbetweenemployers,employeesandbarristersduringatribunal
willconsumealotoftheworkingday.
Thebackandforthcommunicationwillcostthebusinesstimeandthereforemoney.
Tribunalsarecomplexandwillrequireyourundividedattention.
Thiswillmeansacrificingvaluableworkinghourswhilstyoumakethe
necessaryarrangements.
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GATHERINGDOCUMENTS
Dependingontheclaim,atribunalmayrequireyoutocollecthundredsof
documentsforreview.
Thiswillrequirescouringemailhistories,invoices,notesandHRdocumentation.
Keywitnesseswillneedtoattendtribunaltogiveevidenceandwillbe
crossexaminedbytheotherside.Thiscanbeveryworryingforindividualsandimpact
ontheirdaytodayworkload.
WITNESSSTATEMENTS
ATTENDINGTRIBUNAL
Youwillneedtocollectrelevantwitnessstatementstopresentatthetribunal.
Thismayincludeobtainingdetailedaccountsfrom employeesacrossdepartments,
takingtimeoutoftheirscheduledworkinghours.
Itisworryingknowingyouhaveacourtcaseagainstyou.
Worryingaboutthepossibleoutcomeofthetribunalandtheburdenofthe
associatedcostswillultimatelydistractyoufrom theoperationof
daytodaybusiness.
LEGALREPRESENTATION
Findingtherightlegalrepresentationisessential.
Thismayincludethepreparationofyourcaseandrepresentationattribunal.
Thiscanbeexpensiveandtimeconsuming.
GENERALCOMMUNICATION
PREPARATIONTIME
WORRY
Employersoftenfeelthat
employeeshavetheupper-hand
whenitcomestoemployment
tribunals.
Thiscanfeelespeciallytrue
astheaverage
tribunalcostforantribunalcostforan
employeris…
W IN OR
LOSE
EMPLOYMENTTRIBUNALBILL
£9,000
1April-31March2016
atotalof
tribunalapplicationswere
made
83,031
Thehighestsum awarded
inatribunalclaim in2016:
£1,762,1
Singleclaims
January-March2017
Up4% since2016
4,291
WiththeEmploymentTribunalBillabolishinglegalfeesforemployees
thereislikelytobeasignificantincreaseinclaimsagainstemployers.
THEREALCOSTOF
EMPLOYMENTTRIBUNALS