Online Employment Tribunal Decisions

Online Employment Tribunal Decisions

Some employers may be surprised to know that all Employment Tribunal decisions made from February 2017 onwards are freely available online. Decisions made before this date are publicly available but you have to go to Bury St Edmunds County Court to get them.

Whilst we are not aware of any statistics being published that show how many people are using the website, we are certainly aware that some Claimants are using the website to find out whether there have been any previous cases against their ex-employer and what the outcome was.

The reason this is interesting is because of the way decisions are worded when a claim has been settled. The claim is treated as being withdrawn and so the decision reads:

“The proceedings are dismissed following withdrawal of the claim by the claimant.”

Therefore, an employee is able to look up any employer and see if they usually settle claims brought against them.

This in itself may lead to an increase in claims against an employer, as employees can see that if they bring a claim, it will be settled in all likelihood.

Similarly, if you have no cases which are withdrawn and all the decisions are full judgments then it may well be the case that the employer has a rule that they do not settle claims.

It’s like a poker tell that you are oblivious about. It may or may not change how you play the game, but you certainly want to know about it!