Clause 10 - Appeals against demands for costs
Employment Relations Bill
3:45 pm
Mr Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk, Conservative)
I want to raise a point that is more of a question. On page 10 of the Bill, new paragraph 165A(3) reads:
''An appeal under this paragraph lies to an employment tribunal.''
I know that the Minister is an expert on employment tribunals, so I should like to ask him about how the system is getting over-loaded. I understand that, last calendar year, there were more than 130,000 employment tribunal cases. Recent legislation, such as the right to flexible contracts, will burden them further. It appears that we are moving further towards a conversation culture, in which people jump at any turn to make appeals to tribunals.
Does the Minister feel that the employment tribunal is the right forum in which to hear appeals against demands for costs? Presumably, the Government's logic is that using such tribunals is tidier, more focused and more expeditive than using the county court system or another tribunal. Will he elaborate on that?