BONALLACK & BISHOP – LAWYERS IN SALISBURY – PRESS RELEASE
22nd July 2010
“Don't make this a bumper year for employment lawyers” pleads Salisbury law firm
The recent publication of Employment Tribunal statistics for 2009/10 has prompted Salisbury employment law firm Bonallack and Bishop to warn local businesses that the next 12 months could prove very expensive for those employers who don't take care about the way employment law affects their workers.
One of Bonallack and Bishop's employment law team, solicitor Nigel Mills, commented, “The latest figures are simply remarkable. 793,900 applications were made last year to the Employment Tribunals, showing an amazing increase of 56% in the number of claims compared with 2008/9. This is the highest number of employment claims ever reported in a single year – and with the threat of up to 400,000 redundancies being made by government cuts, and the inevitable knock on impact on the private sector, there's every reason to think that next year's figures could be even higher! What’s also worrying is that the Employment Tribunals have accumulated an incredible backlog of 400,000 outstanding claims that haven't yet been dealt with. This increasing delay in finalising claims means that the stress and disruption any business faces when presented with an employment tribunal claim is likely to last for much longer – yet another good reason for businesses to take particular care this year.”
But what steps should every business with employees take? Nigel’s advice is simple.
"Don’t make this a bumper year for employment lawyers. Every employer should take extra care handling employment law issues given both the new figures and the current economic climate. In particular they should consider taking the following simple steps:
- Carry out an immediate and thorough review of both their employment law policies and procedures, to make sure they have the right ones in place
- Ensure that all existing and new staff have up to date contracts of employment
- Most importantly, when dealing with capability, redundancy or disciplinary issues, follow correct procedure. If you are unclear of the right steps to take, don’t guess – find out yourself what to do next, or take advice from a specialist employment lawyer, before taking any action, as mistakes often cannot be rectified afterwards.
In short, if in doubt about any aspect of employment law or procedure – don’t take any chances, as mistakes can prove very expensive indeed.”
For further information and advice, please contact Nigel Mills on 01722 422300 or email nigel.mills@bishopslaw.com
(Source: Tribunal Annual Statistics for 2009/10, published by the Tribunal Service, June 30 2010 )
