Employment tribunals were first established to provide a cheap and accessible service for the quick resolution of legally based employment disputes. With the decline of collective industrial relations and the growth of legislation on individual employment rights, employment tribunals have acquired a new prominence. However, in doing so employment tribunals have also been heavily criticized for becoming too legalistic and formal. This article takes issue with this tendency to criticize the work of employment tribunals. It closely investigates the role of the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) in Ireland and finds that while it has become legalistic it still plays an important role in employment standard-setting. The article argues that employment relations systems in Anglo-Saxon countries are increasingly rights-based and that bodies like the EAT now play a key role in the functioning of such systems.
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