Of the 61 cases referred to the JIB in 2015, 93 per cent were successfully resolved, the vast majority by mediation. Only two disputes progressed to a formal Dispute Hearing; in these two cases, the Claimants were successful in their claims and awards were made. No appeal was lodged against either decision.
The most common cases lodged were unfair dismissals, unlawful deduction from wages and disputes linked to travelling time or allowance. Unfair dismissal claims represented 24 of the total submitted in 2015; these concerned redundancy selection, gross misconduct and the expiration of a fixed term contract.
Sheik Khan, JIB head of industrial relations, said: ‘Disputes resolution remains a continued success of the JIB, although it is one of the unsung and less visible parts of our organisation. A great deal of work happens in the background and I am justifiably proud of our constantly high mediation success rate.
‘Achieving the regular level of success is no fluke and we are grateful for the sensible and pragmatic approaches taken by both the employers and Unite the Union.’
To read the 2015 Disputes Report visit www.jib.org.uk/publications