Hospitality sector facing surge in tribunal claims

Employers in the hospitality and leisure sector are facing growing numbers of employment tribunal claims, research has suggested.

A new report suggests that the hospitality and leisure businesses received 12% more tribunal claims than other sectors over the past two years, largely being driven by high staff turnover, casual working arrangements, and challenges in managing grievances effectively.

The most common claims brought were harassment related to a protected characteristic (15%), with significantly fewer claims for ordinary and constructive unfair dismissal because of the prevalence of short-term contracts and seasonal work.

While hospitality and leisure businesses reported fewer grievances overall (27.62 on average), a higher proportion of these led to tribunal claims, suggesting that internal processes may be failing to resolve issues effectively.  

Internal processes often fail due to time pressures and poor management, however, this can lead to more costly implications further down the line. Hospitality and leisure HR teams spent an average of 4.32 working weeks dealing with tribunal claims over the two-year period.

The Employment Rights Bill, which could introduce ‘day one’ rights to claim unfair dismissal, may lead to a further surge in claims from employees who previously lacked the required length of service. Employers must act now to strengthen their internal processes, provide robust training to line managers, and ensure grievances are handled effectively. Failure to do so could result in costly and time-consuming tribunal proceedings. 

Source: Personnel Today

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