PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
NON-PAYMENT OF EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNAL AWARDS (24 January 2005)

That this House notes with concern the findings of the Citizen Advice Bureaux Report, Empty Justice - the non-payment of employment tribunal awards; further notes that, despite being successful in winning a case in an employment tribunal, employees often find it difficult to ensure that tribunal awards are paid by the employer; further notes that, even where a tribunal award is registered in the county court, there are legal, financial and other obstacles to the successful enforcement of the award which, in far too many cases, deny the claimant the justice they have sought through the employment tribunal system and which immediately following the tribunal hearing they understandably believed that they had obtained; calls on the Department for Constitutional Affairs and the Department for Trade and Industry to undertake a joint review of the enforcement and to identify an appropriate mechanism to ensure that, where an employer fails to pay a tribunal award within a reasonable period, public funds should pay the award to the claimant and then pursue the employer for that amount plus the costs of enforcement; and believes that provision for such a mechanism should be introduced in the Courts and Tribunal Bill due to be brought forward in 2005.

Sponsored by:
Andy King (Labour)