May 23, 2014

Losing employers set to face tribunal penalties

Since April 2014, employment tribunals now have the power to impose a penalty of between £100 and £5,000 when an employer loses a case and where the tribunal considers the way the employer breached the worker’s rights has one or more “aggravating features”.

The penalties – which are paid to the government – apply to claims made after 6 April 2014.

The aggravating features are not clearly set out in the legislation, leaving it open to tribunals to consider the facts of each case.

However, a policy paper on the legislation published in January 2013 said that aggravating features would include “malice or negligence” but not “inadvertent errors”.

It said the penalties were “designed to encourage business to have greater regard to what is required of them in law and, ultimately, lead to fewer workplace disputes and employment tribunal claims”.

For more information, please visit or contact Richard Woodman, Gemma Ospedale or Caroline Doran.

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