Submission date: 20 June 2007

This Government consultation set out a package of measures for taking forward the recommendations of the Gibbons Review. The specific measures being consulted on included repealing the current statutory dispute resolution procedures; abolishing ACAS fixed period conciliation; providing better help and guidance and incentives (including costs sanctions) to resolve disputes at an earlier stage; and improving how employment tribunals work. The review was far-reaching and any legislative changes are unlikely to occur before April 2009.

In order to consider and comment on the consultation issued by the (as was then) DTI in March 2007, ELA held a number of regional workshops across the country from Southampton to Scotland, to gather the views of its members. DTI representatives were present at a number of these workshops.ELA’s main, consolidated response following these workshops can be downloaded here. This contains notes from the individual sessions is included in an appendix attached at the end of this response.

ELA’s main response is a combined response from the workshops we ran around the country. It has been prepared by Richard Fox of Kingsley Napley (who chaired ELA’s Tribunal Working Party which ran the ELA Survey in respect of the new rules introduced in October 2004 and the Group that made ELA’s submissions to Michael Gibbons in March of this year) and Nick Bloy of Lewis Silkin, with input from Barry Clarke of Russell Jones & Walker (ELA Chair) and of James Davies of Lewis Silkin (Chair, ELA Legislative & Policy Committee).