It is hoped that the consultation will result in a clear way of enabling employment tribunals to assess the worthiness of claims without any unsubstantiated or false claims being aired in public.

Minister for employment relations Lord Young said the move was an "important step forward in improving the flow of information between tribunals and industry regulators".

He added: "This change in the rules will help provide an early warning system for patterns of unlawful, fraudulent or dangerous behaviour emerging within an industry."

The consultation can be viewed on the BERR website at www.berr.gov.uk.