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The ‘Problem’ with the Employment Tribunal System: Reform, Rhetoric and Realities for the Clients of Citizens’ Advice Bureaux

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  • Eleanor Kirk

Abstract

Successive reforms of the Employment Tribunal System, based upon the interlinked assumptions that there are too many claims and that it is too easy for people with nothing to lose to lodge deliberately vexatious claims in the hope of a large payout, have made it progressively more difficult to bring claims against employers. This article challenges these persistent, though unsubstantiated assumptions, used to justify weakening employment rights enforcement and further deregulate the labour market. It draws upon the experiences of 158 clients of Citizens’ Advice Bureaux, who were tracked over the course of their disputes, as they sought to resolve work-related grievances. Among this group, it can be argued that rather than too many, too few claims go forward, discouraged by the real and imagined costs of making a claim. Financial compensation is usually the only (less than satisfactory) remedy offered.

Suggested Citation

  • Eleanor Kirk, 2018. "The ‘Problem’ with the Employment Tribunal System: Reform, Rhetoric and Realities for the Clients of Citizens’ Advice Bureaux," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 32(6), pages 975-991, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:32:y:2018:i:6:p:975-991
    DOI: 10.1177/0950017017701077
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Charles Heckscher & Françoise Carré, 2006. "Strength in Networks: Employment Rights Organizations and the Problem of Co‐Ordination," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 44(4), pages 605-628, December.
    2. Maurice Levi & Kai Li & Feng Zhang, 2015. "Are Women More Likely to Seek Advice than Men? Evidence from the Boardroom," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-23, February.
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