Final Report of the Morris Inquiry: The Case for Change

THE CASE FOR CHANGE
money. Whatever the reason, management should not use that assumption as a
reason for failing to attempt to resolve the matter.
4.120 In fact, all the Applicant may want is an apology or an acknowledgement
that something has gone wrong and that he or she has not been treated fairly.
Often a motivation is to ensure no one else suffers what they have experienced.
“It is actually all right to be wrong in terms of dealing with a subjective area like employment
relationships.What is not all right is to not admit that you are actually wrong, and put the thing
right.” (Evidence of John Taylor, Chief Executive of ACAS.)
4.121 Learning the Lessons identifies a number of different ways of resolving a
dispute on an informal level and these are just as relevant once a claim has been
lodged. They include an apology, policy revision, addressing a personal need (e.g.
different working hours), special leave, transfer or simply some acknowledgment
that feelings have been hurt.
4.122 In our view, it is always important to continue to try to resolve a case, once a
claim has been lodged. Not only does this represent good management practice
but it is often the case that what the Applicant wants is not something which an
Employment Tribunal could order.
4.123 On the positive side, an Employment Tribunal claim can provide a valuable
opportunity for any organisation to learn lessons about its own procedures and
management processes. However, this depends on there being a formal opportunity
for a debriefing which ideally should involve all those involved. The value of a debriefing
is not confined simply to Employment Tribunal cases, any workplace issue or
dispute should be examined in this way to see if lessons can be learnt for the future.
4.124 We have been told that the total number of Employment Tribunal cases received
by the MPS between 2000 and 2003 was 97 (2000/1), 95 (2001/2) and 71 (2002/3).
4.125 This is not a particularly large number in view of the size of the organisation
but it must be borne in mind that police officers only have a right to claim race or
sex discrimination at present.
4.126 It is therefore likely that the earlier recommendations of this report will, if
accepted, increase the number of Employment Tribunal cases brought against the
MPS, as officers gain means of redress which are not currently open to them. It is
therefore important that the Service has an effective system for dealing with
grievances and workplace disputes with a view to resolving them before an
Employment Tribunal claim is lodged.
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