What is it about?
This article examines the experiences of people attempting to resolve problems that arise at work, and the challenges they face in seeking resolution. It questions a number of things successive governments have done to make it harder to make a claim to an employment tribunal (the bodies which deal with issues like unfair dismissal and unpaid wages) as unjustified and disproportionate.
Featured Image
Why is it important?
Government has recently made it more difficult and expensive for people to access justice for ill-treatment by employers. Given the decline of trade unions, workers are increasingly reliant on legal remedies. Yet, this avenue of dispute resolution is being closed off to those who cannot pay. This article highlights the injustice of this and the shaky foundations of policy justifications that have vilified users of the tribunal system as 'vexatious' litigants.
Perspectives
We spend a large proportion of our lives at work, and for many, it is a central aspect of our identities. Being involved in an employment dispute can be a painful process, especially where there is no resolution and injustice goes unpunished. I hope that this article provides a timely critique of current policy direction with respect to employment relations, and opportunity for re-direction.
Eleanor Kirk
University of Bristol
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The ‘Problem’ with the Employment Tribunal System: Reform, Rhetoric and Realities for the Clients of Citizens’ Advice Bureaux, Work Employment and Society, June 2017, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/0950017017701077.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
