Policy background Employment Tribunals Transferring responsibility for the making of procedure rules for ETs and EAT from the Secretary of State for BEIS to the Tribunal Procedure Committee
In 2016 the Government consulted on reforming the employment tribunal structure and announced the transfer of responsibility for ET and EAT rules from the SoS BEIS to the Tribunal Procedure Committee (TPC). This Act will legislate for that change. The TPC is better placed to make and amend rules for the ETs, given that it is an independent rule-making committee. These arrangements will also allow for a quicker response to the need to introduce, amend or revise ET procedure rules to help address the backlog in outstanding ET claims as well as dealing with other changing circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
	Although the policy intention is to make the arrangements between the ETs and other tribunals more consistent, the Government wishes to retain the existing distinct and separate structure of the ETs and EAT. The ETs and the EAT will therefore remain outside the unified tribunal structure and continue to retain separate rules (Employment Tribunal Procedure Rules) from the unified tribunal system (Tribunal Procedure Rules).