WORCESTERSHIRE businesses are being advised to ensure their contracts of employment and their procedures are updated, and watertight, following numerous employment tribunal claims.

The warning has been issued by Sally Morris, employment lawyer at county solicitors Mfg, who is urging firms to ensure they are complying with their legal obligations, especially surrounding disciplinary action and grievances.

Ms Morris said there had been a 90 per cent rise in tribunal claims issued between October and December last year, following a landmark Supreme Court decision in July 2017 against the controversial fees. These fees for bringing a tribunal claim were introduced in 2013 and resulted in a significant reduction in claims, which Ms Morris was due to aggrieved parties weighed up the costs of taking action. The fees were abolished last summer.

Ms Morris said: “The impact of last summer’s ruling was significant and far-reaching. On the whole, what the decision means is that it’s now far easier to bring a claim against an employer, whether it is reasonable or not. This means that businesses must take time to ensure their procedures are watertight and their policies clear, so they are prepared if they are faced with invoking disciplinary or grievance procedures."