DTI Press Release P/97/18 of 8th January 1997

DTI Press Release P/97/18 of 8th January 1997 was headed "Appointment of Chief Executive and Board of Employment Tribunals Service".

The Employment Tribunals Service (ETS) was established in its current form on 1st April 1997 as an executive agency of the Department of Trade and Industry.

In April 2006, ETS will join the Tribunals Service, a new government agency within the Department for Constitutional Affairs. The Tribunals Service will provide common administrative support to the main central government tribunals. Its launch is billed as "the biggest change to the tribunals system in this country in almost half a century".

The ETS provides administrative support to Employment Tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal. Its principal activities are:

• dealing with paperwork and correspondence relating to tribunal cases;
  
• making practical arrangements for all tribunal hearings, including supporting the judiciary in the listing of cases for hearing (which is a judicial responsibility);
  
• supporting tribunals during hearings; and
  
• providing information on tribunal procedures to the public.

The ETS has almost 700 staff and over 30 permanent offices around Great Britain. It has a high-powered "Steering Board" of external members to advise the government on the Service's "performance, targets and strategic direction".

The ETS is, of course, quite separate from Tribunal members (ie the judiciary) who are completely independent.

See also Employment tribunals/annual report and/or Employment tribunals/constitution and history of and/or Employment tribunals/addresses, tel & fax nos .