Unqualified representatives

We say in the book (at paragraph 1.19) that there is no restriction on who may appear as a representative in the employment tribunals. This (from 27 April 2007) is no longer true. The relevant provisions are scattered across a number of different pieces of legislation. The Compensation Act 2006 provides at section 4:

(1) A person may not provide regulated claims management services unless—
(a) he is an authorised person,
(b) he is an exempt person,
(c) the requirement for authorisation has been waived in relation to him in
accordance with regulations under section 9, or
(d) he is an individual acting otherwise than in the course of a business.

“Regulated claims management services” sounds very technical, but what matters here is that it includes advice and representation in employment tribunal proceedings.

Legal practitioners (barristers, solicitors, qualified legal executives and a few others as defined by regulation 4 of the Compensation (Exemptions) Order 2007 are exempt from these requirements, as are charities and not-for-profit advice agencies (regulation 6).

Employment consultants must be authorised. To find out if a particular business is authorised, ask it for its authorisation number and then use the search form on the website of the Ministry of Justice.

Note that regulated persons and bodies are bound by the Conduct of Authorised Persons Rules, the Complaints Handling Rules and the Client Account Rules.

Thanks to Adrian Melia of Humane Resources for pointing out this omission.