Government plans review of dispute resolution

The government is continuing moves to shift claims out of the employment tribunals into other forms of dispute resolution. Following the introduction in May this year of binding arbitration in unfair dismissal cases (see Labour Research, June 2001, p21), the government is examining a possible extension of this, or another form of dispute resolution, to other areas of employment law.

Minister for Employment Relations, Alan Johnson, announced in June that there was to be a major review, which will make recommendations on how to promote good employment practice in the workplace and encourage amicable settlement of disputes without recourse to litigation.

The government says that it will consider legislative options as well as non-statutory means of achieving its objectives and will, in particular, examine the role of arbitration body ACAS and the employment tribunals.

For more information on the workings of the tribunals, see Law Back-up on page 21.