The Gazette 1983

GAZETTE explains Mr. Byrne commenting on the higher ration of legal representation on the employer's side. "Employers are under a false perception about the power of the Tribunal. They are afraid that they will lose a lot of money and also they don't want the publicity. Solicitors will make every effort to settle their cases before it gets to the Tribunal hearing," says Mr. Stuart. Public perception of the Tribunal has changed radically over the past five yers, and this has caused people to call on the legal profession to represent them. "People think they are going to get huge sums of money in compensation so they turn to solicitors to represent them," according to.Mr. Byrne. In fact the Tribunal can only award a maximum award of two year's salary and that is rarely given. Most of the awards are very small and the Tribunal does not award costs. "This perception of the Tribunal is the fault of the media. The press are always printing all sorts of hairy cases. Very little is written about the employer's side and every detail of the employee is splashed out. This creates an unfair balance and complicates the whole issue" says Mr. Byrne. "In most cases the decision of the Tribunal is reserved and although many employers are winning their cases it rarely gets into the papers." "The possibility of an award of what is sometimes a substantial sum appears to have resulted in a growing tendency for parties to employ members of the legal pro- fession," says the Annual Report of the EAT in 1981. Although the minimum compensation is only two year's salary because of the recession many higher paid executives have been, and will be, made redundant. There- fore the amount of money at stake is now higher so more people are turning to the legal profession for representa- tion. Many solicitors now take a percentage of the award as their fee because of the variance in awards. Employment Tribunals in England have the additional power of awarding a Basic Award — damages for the manner of the dismissal — and Mr. Stuart believes that the EAT should also have this power. The case of R. T. Bunyon v. UDT (UD66/1980) high- lights the whole problem facing the Tribunal. Normally unfair dismissals hearings take a half a day, according to the annual report of the EAT. The Bunyon case however, took 32 separate hearings lasting from 15/5/80 to 22/7/81. Some 144 documents were produced as evidence and some witnesses were up to seven days giving evidence. Both parties were represented legally and there were many legal wranglings. The report of the Tribunal's decision in Bunyon's favour, ran to 22 pages, and the maximum compensation was awarded,some £44,454. The case was reported extensively and no doubt gave rise to much of the misconception the public now has. Bunyon was repre- sented by a Solicitor, Senior Counsel and Junior Counsel. Clearly this sort of case is not what the Tribunal was set out to deal with but it does serve as illustration of the increasing role of the legal profession and the loss of the "accessible and informal process" intended by the Donovan Commission. •

JULY/AUGUST

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