On 22 October 2024, the Senior President of Tribunals (SPT) published Practice Direction: Panel composition in the Employment Tribunals and Employment Appeal Tribunal and accompanying Joint Presidential Guidance from the Presidents of the Scotland and England and Wales employment tribunals. The new Practice Direction and Presidential Guidance take effect from 29 October 2024.
Ss 4 and 28 Employment Tribunals Act 1996 (as amended by s 35 Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022) introduced a new legislative framework for determining the composition of employment tribunals and the EAT. The framework enables the Lord Chancellor to determine the number of members of the tribunal and the matters that may be heard by a judge sitting alone. In January 2024, the power to determine the composition of employment tribunals and the EAT was delegated to the SPT (see FC Feature 30 January 2024). The final Practice Direction is in largely the same form as the draft published in July 2024 alongside the SPT's response to an earlier consultation on proposals for the exercise of the SPT's delegated powers (see FC Feature 8 July 2024).
The Practice Direction applies to matters decided on or after 29 October 2024. There is an exception where a matter was listed for a hearing before 29 October 2024 and the hearing takes place partly or wholly on or after that date. In this case, the tribunal may be constituted in accordance with the law before the Practice Direction was made.
The Presidential Guidance includes factors relevant to panel composition in relation to employment tribunals, which must have regard to (although they are not bound by) the Guidance, as well as guidance on transitional arrangements.
For more information on the composition of tribunals, see Employment Tribunal/Constitution and Employment Appeal Tribunal/Constitution.
First published on the Employment News Service on 23 October 2024.
Want to view more content like this? Or view our previous features? Sign up for a Free Trial to our service.
To view our previous blogs, please visit the blog home page.
