Has 2017 really been ‘The Year of the Worker’? View more

Has 2017 really been ‘The Year of the Worker’?

Infamously dubbed as ‘The Year of the Worker,’ this year’s HR agenda has been dominated by the increase in employee rights. With this is mind, HR and management teams have been made to sit up and take note, but the question remains – is this a positive step for UK employment?

In the wake of the Brexit referendum, a fog of continued uncertainty lies across most UK businesses, and as a result, there has been crucial employment law changes implemented throughout 2017.

There was no shortage of entertainment in July with the Tour de France and Wimbledon captivating audiences across the nation. Drama was not lacking within the business world either, with the publication of the ‘Taylor Review,’ shortly followed by the immediate removal of employment tribunal fees on 26th July. Reviewing previous UK tribunal statistics, cases peaked in 2009/10, undoubtedly due to the dreaded recession, thus creating an influx of redundancy claims.

Fast forward to 2013, and the introduction of tribunal fees - the cost for an employee to pursuit a claim could rise up to £1,200 – an unrealistic financial burden for the majority of households across the UK.

Therefore, it is not surprising that following the introduction of tribunal fees, average cases per quarter fell from 13,500 to 4,400, with an additional 67% decrease from October 2013 onwards. This begs the question as to why these fees were originally introduced?

The reasoning behind the movement was supposedly for the benefit of both employee and employer – hoping the introduction of fees would encourage people to settle disputes at an earlier stage, avoiding tribunals where possible. From a more humane aspect, the fees were also set to reduce the amount of erroneous claims being made from a purely malicious standpoint, with only people believed to have a realistic chance of winning, taking businesses to court.

Whilst the Minister of Justice hailed this movement as a positive change, the House of Commons were slightly more skeptical, claiming an “adverse impact on access to justice for meritorious claims.” It is easy to highlight both the negatives and positives for this movement; however, when dealing with people, things are never as simple as they seem.

As of July 2017, UK Government removed tribunal fees with immediate effect, promising to reimburse the cost for the last four years, to the estimated figure of £32m. It is not surprising that this news spread uneasiness across many businesses – the question is, what does this mean for small business owners in particular?

It is difficult enough to effectively run a small or a medium-sized business, throw into the mix extra time taken to handle an unexpected tribunal, and suddenly your eye is taken off the commercial ball. This can lead to settling claims for a speedy resolution, rather than getting embroiled in a tedious and costly process.

The time, effort and cost of legal advice can be a fatal blow to small businesses, where cash is king, often pushing these organizations over the edge. That being said, the system should never prevent honest grievances being filed – could there be a half-way house where claims are vetted at an earlier stage? Might the set-up of this be a better use for the aforementioned £32m – the HR equivalent of the CPS?

Business owners are now having to be much more vigilant and aware when it comes to any contractual agreements.

However, can there ever be better protection than honesty and trust? It seems somewhat sad that modern day businesses seem to have seen a fall in trust and teamwork, and adherence to the ‘dog eat dog’ culture. Where does the blame lie? With the ever increasing cost of living, inflation peaking last month at 2.9%, the phrase ‘every penny counts’ never seemed more relevant. More and more people are becoming financially focused, but whether this is born from greed or necessity is a point of debate.

With all the uncertainty surrounding UK industry, it’s a scary time for business owners. Having fought through the recession there seems to be new battles and obstacles emerging at every corner – that leaves us all thinking, what will 2018 bring?

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