Written question asked by Oliver Heald (Conservative) on Tuesday, 17 July 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 19 July 2007. It was answered by Pat McFadden (Labour) on Wednesday, 25 July 2007 on behalf of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.

Industrial Disputes: Arbitration

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the average total cost of (a) mediating and (b) litigating an employment dispute.

Answer: The Department does not collect information on private mediation in employment disputes. The Department has approved plans to undertake the next periodic Survey of Employment Tribunal Applications (SETA) in 2008. SETA assembles a broad range of data on ETs including the legal costs, costs of advice and representation, and other expenses, incurred by claimants and employers involved in employment tribunals (ET) claims. The last SETA was conducted in 2003. Results were published by the Department in 2004 as ERRS No. 33 Findings from the Survey of Employment Tribunal Applications 2003.

Secondary information