Are you aware just how exposed your organisation is to employment disputes?

To illustrate the impact of the constantly evolving employee-friendly legislation, recent statistics show that the number of employment tribunals increased last year by an astonishing 17%! There was also a 76% increase in Sex Discrimination cases!

The pace of legislative change is such that most employers are unable to keep up with the procedural changes and resultant responsibilities that are placed upon you.

This pace of change inevitably leaves many firms vulnerable to getting it wrong when they deal with their workforce and, as we all know, ignorance of the law is no defence.

When a dispute arises and, regardless of how trivial the employment tribunal application,this results in employers having to meet their own legal costs of representation that are normally not recoverable.

The recent rapid growth of Human Resources consultants and other legal specialists, all offering support to organisations, testifies to the fact that the demand is there for outsourcing assistance because good employers want to stay on the right side of the law.

Regardless of what service you select, the reality is that any employer can still be faced with employee disputes.

However, for all but the larger employers, even having a good risk management system in place without having adequate insurance cover when disputes arise, means that the financial consequences of a dispute can be severe.

This is because, no matter how good the risk management or consultancy service is, legal disputes are often lost and employee compensatory awards can exceed £50,000 for unfair dismissal and are unlimited in disciminiation claims.

A risk managed consultancy solution backed by insurance can provide an attractive fixed cost solution for small to medium sized firms that wish to protect themselves comprehensively.

On current statistics most employers are financially vulnerable to high dispute costs and awards, which are unbudgeted and can even cripple a business!

To put the statistics in context, the chances of you becoming involved in an employment dispute are now much higher than the risk of a serious fire or theft claim.

However, packaged insurance and consultancy solutions that can protect organisations in this area can cost less than 1% of employment costs. These costs can often be paid monthly to alleviate any cash-flow worries.

For additional information about employment and health and safety insurance and consultancy packages, contact:

John Haslam 0151 609 3900

or email using the link below with your contact details.