Employment Tribunals - Essay Example

As such, these labour legislations provide the set of restrictions upon the worker in his relationship with the employer and vice-versa in order to maintain industrial peace and harmony, consequently promoting industrial democracy. Similarly, these labour legislations are designed to look more on the immediate results of the employer-employee relationship. These are the body of rules and principles which governs the relationship between labour and management in the collective on the one hand and the principles of determining the rights and liabilities consequential to the individual relationship of employer and employees.

When the conflicting interests of labour and capital are weighed down, the heavier influence of capital must be counterbalanced by the compassion and sympathy accorded to the worker. This is only fair if the worker is given the opportunity and the right to assert and defend his claim, not as a subordinate but also as a peer of management, with which he can negotiate on even plane. And these can be done and addressed before an employment tribunal. Aside from the foregoing Labour legislations, Employment Tribunals plays an important role in ensuring industrial peace and harmony. . These include unfair dismissal, redundancy, payments, discrimination as well as claims relating to wages and dismissal among others.

Employment Tribunals are like courts, but it is not as formal. Correspondingly, it acts independently. Claims are usually initiated by employees or trade unions. Cases are usually heard by a panel of three persons which include legally qualified chairperson and two lay members who use their employment experiences in judging the facts of the case. Employment Tribunals in the recent years are accessible to an aggrieved employee so as to address the latter's grievances against his employer. An employee can be represented by himself or by his organisation before the Employment Tribunal.

Similarly, Employment Tribunals speedily address the cases before it. Employment Tribunal applications for cases must be made within three months of the incident, however, the Tribunal can extend the time limit it exceptional circumstance. The Tribunal will then ascertain as to whether or not the employee's claim can prosper. And in case of doubt as tot the claim, a preliminary hearing is conducted so as to decide whether the claim or response should prosper or not; decide whether or not the employee is entitled to bring or defend his claim and to decide if there is a need to pay the deposit and as to whether or not either side's case appear weak.

This preliminary hearing is normally held in public before a chairman sitting alone or it can be held over the telephone. If the case goes ahead, case management discussions are held to clarify issues in the case, in the same way, it considers witnesses and pieces of evidence to be presented as well as the time and length of the full hearing. The aforementioned discussions can