On 21st March 2007 the Government published the outcome of an independent review of the employment dispute resolution system in Great Britain, led by Michael Gibbons.
The Government welcomed the Gibbons Review and published ‘Resolving disputes in the Workplace - A consultation‘ setting out measures for taking the Gibbons Review forward. The consultation sought views on a package of measures to help solve employment disputes successfully in the workplace so that:
Responses to the consultation (which closed on 20 June 2007) enabled the Government to identify key legislative reforms for inclusion in the Employment Bill which was published on 7 December 2007. This provides for the complete repeal of the statutory dispute procedures. It also provides for repeal of the existing law on the role of procedure in unfair dismissal. The Bill is subject to parliamentary consideration and depending on the outcome of that process the Government hopes that repeal will take place in April 2009.
In addition to the Bill, the Government will be introducing other non legislative measures to improve and simplify employment dispute resolution. The Government is providing Acas with up to £37M over 3 years to boost its helpline service and its ability to offer early conciliation for problems which are potential employment tribunal claims.
Details of all these measures are set out in the Government response to the consultation.
Guidance for employees on the current dispute resolution system can be found on Directgov, guidance for employers can be found on Business Link.