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Letting out the grief

8th March 2007, Page 34
8th March 2007
Page 34
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Page 34, 8th March 2007 — Letting out the grief
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

The DT1's statutory dispute resolution procedures were meant to make managing conflicts at work easier. However, there are concerns that the regs have had the opposite effect, with more recourse to employment

tribunals. Adam Hill reports.

Since October 2004 all firms, regardless of size, have been required to put in place minimum rules for dealing with dismissal, disciplinary action and grievances in the workplace, and to inform their employees of them (see panel). But now the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) suggests the regulations should be scrapped.

In a survey of nearly 800 companies including 30 from what it calls the "transport, distribution and storage" sector the CIPD found that 28% of employers believe the new system has increased the number of grievance cases. It says the statutory procedures have made things more complex, not simpler, putting significant strain on the employment tribunal system.

This is ironic, since the Employment Act 2002 (Dispute Resolution) Regulations came into force with the aim of encouraging employers and employees to settle disputes in the workplace. Tribunals were to be used as a last resort. But what has happened, the CIPD says. is that lawyers are being called in earlier by employers terrified of litigation. Almost a third of companies believe disputes are now less likely to be resolved informally, and 42% say they are more likely to take legal advice to ensure they don't fall foul of the regulations when dealing with staff complaints.

Figures from the Employment Tribunals Service (ETS) show that in 2004-05 (the first year in which the new regs could have an effect), there were 86,000 claims compared with 115,000 claims the year before. This might suggest there were more claims settled in the workplace the very thing the regulations were introduced to encourage. However, the figure rose back to 115,000 claims in 2005-06.

Fewer multiple claims

The reduction in claims the previous year had been due to a decrease in the number of multiple claimswhere a number of employees from a single employer make similar claims rather than the new regs. The ETS believes the increase in 2005-06 was due to the number of multiple claims being on the rise again in the main against the National Health Service and local authorities.

More than a third of tribunals last year revolved around either unfair dismissal (21%) or breach of contract (13%).

-I'm not sure that grievance procedures have resulted in increased tribunal clai ms," says Ruth Pott, head of employment at the Road Haulage Association (RHA)."But it is very bureaucratic for employers."

So what does all this mean for hauliers? The RHA reports that more of its members are contacting the association for advice on conflict at work, but it does not necessarily follow that they are then involving lawyers. "We're getting more calls," says Pon. "They are taking advice from us because they want to be seen to be dealing with it properly."

'the new law has certainly had an effect in the transport industry, says Backhouse Jones employment lawyer Steven Meyerhoff: "For small employers, which a lot of road hauliers are, it has become extremely burdensome. It has made matters far more complex. Cases which are cast iron in terms of liability you will now lose if there is a fault in procedure, such as failing to send a step-one letter. I've had a case where the operator has said 'this guy's stolen off me. how can I lose?' I've got sympathy with that, but it's the law."

Pott suggests that greater clarity is needed in the regulations over what written material should or should not be allowed to become part of a formal grievance process.

The DTI is currently reviewing the regulations and the CIPD suggests it goes "hack to the drawing board".

No date for review 1 he government will not say how the review is going and has not set a date for its findings to be published. But the C1PD wants the DTI to scrap the statutory procedures altogether. Instead, says the CIPD, the DTI should talk to employers, particularly at smaller businesses, about the Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service's code of practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures. Meyerhoff says the new regs -aren't greatly different from the regulations ACAS has been recommending over the past 15 years".

The CIPD also believes the DTI needs to encourage employers to mediate, pointing out that conflict at work costs the average employer it surveyed about 350 days of management time every year, as well as about 120,000 in costs associated with employment tribunal claims. So mediation could save all businesses hauliers included a great deal of time and money. • USEFUL CONTACT: www.cipd.co.uk www.dti.gov.uk www.employmenttribunals.gov.uk


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