Dispute Irresolution

March 30, 2007

The statutory dispute resolution procedures were introduced on 1 October 2004 to force employers and employees to follow good practice in resolving their differences before starting litigation at the Employment Tribunal. The fact that the procedures have been reviewed less than three years later is telling.

The review of the statutory dispute resolution procedures led by Michael Gibbons, concludes that the procedures have ‘unintended consequences that outweighed their benefits’. The subtext of this quote is clearly that the procedures have, paradoxically, created more of the very type of litigation they were designed to reduce.

The review recommends abolishing the existing procedures in favour of clear, simple, non-prescriptive guidelines on grievances, discipline and dismissal. Weighted focus is placed on promoting early dispute resolution techniques, which envisages Employment Tribunals offering incentives to those attempting to use such measures in the form of costs orders and award figures.




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