Though Michael Gibbons, who conducted the
review commissioned by DTI minister Alistair Darling, said that the
2004 Dispute Resolution Regulations were well intentioned, he said
that they had failed.
"In
conducting the review I was struck by the overwhelming consensus
that the intentions of the 2004 Regulations were sound and that
there had been a genuine attempt to keep them simple, and yet there
is the same near unanimity that as formal legislation they have
failed to produce the desired policy outcome," said Gibbons in his
report. "This is perhaps a classic case of good policy, but
inappropriately inflexible and prescriptive regulation."
"The key message from this Review is that
inflexible, prescriptive regulation has been unsuccessful in this
context and it follows that the measures to be used in future
should be much simpler and more flexible – and therefore will offer
rather less certainty and predictability in their operation," he
said.
The review has recommended that a free system
of resolution and mediation be made available in cases where early
resolution may be possible. "Government should increase the quality
of advice to potential claimants and respondents through an
adequately resourced helpline and the internet; and offer a free
early dispute resolution service, including where appropriate
mediation," he said.
"My vision is of a greatly increased role for
mediation. Encouraged by signs of success in the context of
employment disputes elsewhere in the world, I commend increased use
of mediation to employers, employees and practitioners in Great
Britain," said Gibbons.
Gibbons' attack on the mediation service comes
just weeks after a report by the Chartered Institute of
Professional Development revealed that many more employers think
that the statutory procedures make formal disciplinary hearings and
grievances more likely than the number that think them less
likely.
According to a survey conducted by the body,
28% of employers think the procedures have led to an increase in
the number of grievances, while only 1% think they have led to a
decrease. It found that 18% think they have led to an increase in
the number of formal disciplinary cases, while only 3% think they
have led to a decrease in those cases.
The survey also found that 29% of employers
believed that disputes that do arise are less likely to be resolved
informally than they were before the statutory procedures were put
in place.
Disputes can be expensive for employers. The
CIPD says that they eat up 350 days of management time a year and
that employers spend £20,000 a year on employment tribunals, costs
which rise to £210,000 a year for those employing more that 10,000
people.
Report author and CIPD employee relations
adviser Ben Willmott recommended similar measures to Gibbons when
the report was published. "The Department for Trade and Industry
should consider going back to the drawing board," he said. "They
have failed to reduce the burden on the employment tribunal system,
adding to the complexity of tribunal hearings, as well as creating
additional problems for employers by making managing conflict at
work more bureaucratic."
The DTI said that it will change the way
dispute resolution works, and has launched a consultation with
industry on the issue. "Workplace disputes are expensive and
wasteful for employers and stressful for employees," said DTI
minister Alistair Darling. "We want to find the best way to reduce
the numbers, get them solved earlier, and keep the system fair for
everybody."
