With the Employment Tribunal Bill recently abolishing legal fees for employees, SMEs are likely to see a significant increase in employment claims. Between January to March 2017 alone there was a 4% increase in employment tribunal applications. For small to medium businesses, this could mean a substantial financial loss to the business - win or lose.
Our infographic breaks down the factors that could contribute to your tribunal costs that you might not of considered.Many businesses will probably fail to consider how the time and energy involved in an employment tribunal could ultimately end up costing their business money. The tribunal is likely to take up the attention of multiple employees, drawing their focus away from their day to day work.
Gathering documents, back and forth communication and witness statements will take large chunks out of the working day, which means less time spent delivering results to your clients and customers. Employment tribunals can also cause a significant amount of stress and worry, which may also end up contributing to time and money spent out of the business.
Many SMEs will find themselves in an employment tribunal due to out-of-date and non-compliant policy documentation. Continuous implementation of compliant and up-to-date policy documents could prevent some SMEs from becoming involved in employment tribunals in the first place. An online employee handbook fully managed and regularly updated by HR experts would help to stop employment issues arising right from the start.