The Lord Chancellor announced on 11 March 2003 that Employment Tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal will form part of a unified Tribunal Service to be created over the next few years. The announcement is published on the Lord Chancellor's Department website. Some briefing on the new service and changes to tribunals in the employment field is given below.

What’s the purpose of the unified service?

To achieve better quality of service for tribunal users. The transfer of the Employment Tribunals Service, which is the agency that administers employment tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT), will allow costs and resources to be shared across other major tribunals. For example, accommodation, IT systems, and other facilities can be pooled, and good administrative practice shared between tribunals.

What will be the impact on employment tribunal claimants?

Over time, the Government expects service standards to improve, so that cases are processed and decided more quickly.  The procedures employment tribunals follow to determine cases are set by statutory instrument, which is now being revised by DTI to implement changes under the Employment Act and the recommendations of the recent Employment Tribunal System Taskforce. There will be full public consultation on new draft regulations later this year. The DTI will continue to be responsible for employment tribunal regulations after the creation of the unified service. EAT regulations are the responsibility of the Lord Chancellor and will continue to be.

What’s the effect on lay members?

Employment tribunal lay members are appointed under the employment tribunal regulations. DTI has no plans to change this part of the regulations, nor the current requirement that lay members must have experience of employment relations in the workplace. The practical knowledge and experience of the lay membership are essential to the expertise and judgement of employment tribunals. Therefore, while the unified service will assume responsibility for the expenses and administration of the lay membership, we expect the pool of members to be largely unchanged by the creation of the unified system. It may be possible for lay members to serve on other tribunals within the new system but lay members from other tribunals will only be able to serve on employment tribunals or the EAT if they meet the same requirement as current lay members. Formal responsibility for future lay member appointments to both bodies will transfer to the Lord Chancellor's Department, working in partnership with DTI.

How will the work of Acas be affected?

Acas has a statutory duty to provide conciliation services to tribunal claimants. There is therefore a very close relationship between Acas and the Employment Tribunals Service. This will continue after ETS moves into the new system. The Employment Tribunal System Taskforce recently recommended a number of ways to improve the operational efficiency of this relationship and these recommendations have been accepted by the Government. The creation of the new service will not affect their implementation. Acas, and the organisations which it resources (Central Arbitration Committee and Certification Office) will not form part of the new service.

Will reinstatement committees be part of the new system?

Yes. Reinstatement committees and umpires are concerned with the rights of reservists to return to their previous work after service in the armed forces. They are closely linked with employment tribunals and the EAT and will join the new system in due course.

How will the system operate in Scotland?

Employment tribunals are a nationwide service (a separate system operates in Northern Ireland). Scottish employment tribunals will also form part of the unified service. Separate arrangements for judicial appointments will continue to apply in Scotland.

How will the new system be organised and managed?

Proposals for the structure and governance of the unified system will be set out in a White Paper to be published later this year.

If you are interested in an actual case or want to make an application to an employment tribunal, you should contact the Employment Tribunals Service enquiry line (tel: 0845 795 9775).