The mine sweeper (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

The mine sweeper

Employers will be pleased to hear that only 10 per cent of claims by employees against their employers were ultimately successful at tribunal.

This is according to the latest annual report of the Employment Tribunal Services, which revealed that there were more than 98,000 claims in 2002/2003.

However, this does not mean that employers were 90 per cent successful in defending the claims. Many claims were, in fact, settled before reaching the tribunal stage.

Taking a commercial view of tribunal proceedings is often the best way forward for employers because the process of defending a claim can be incredibly time-consuming.

The initial reaction of many employers when faced by a claim that appears to be totally unfounded is to resolve to defend the claim and 'not pay a penny' to the individual concerned.

However, employers would be well-advised to remember that even if they are successful in defending a claim, the chances of recovering any costs are extremely low.

This is because a tribunal will only make the losing party pay costs if it considers that they have acted vexatiously, abusively, disruptively or otherwise unreasonably, or that the bringing or conducting of proceedings has been misconceived.

In fact, in 2002-2003 the tribunals awarded costs in only one per cent of cases.

Some employers will want to defend a claim simply to make a point to other employees that the company is not an easy touch.

However, for most employers a nuisance payment of a few hundred pounds in settlement of a claim is often the most cost-effective course of action.

It is worth employers noting that of the 10 per cent of employees who are successful in their claim, many of them win the case purely and simply because the employer has not followed the correct or fair procedure, this being an integral part of a fair dismissal.

An employer may dismiss an employee for perfectly good reasons, however, if the procedure used to dismiss the individual is not carried out properly the employer may lose the case on that basis.

It is therefore best to seek legal advice when considering dismissing an employee particularly in the light of the forthcoming statutory disciplinary procedures, which will come into effect in October this year.

For further advice, call Withy King Commercial on 01793 536526.