EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNALS HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS NOW
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Employees can make a claim to an employment tribunal (or an industrial tribunal in Northern Ireland) by downloading form ET1 from the tribunals website, or picking up one from a job centre, benefits office or advice agency.
The employee must submit the claim to the correct tribunal office (determined by the post code of their workplace), which can be found on the Employment Tribunal Services website. The next step is for the tribunal to send a copy of the claim to the employer with a request to complete the response form ET3. A date will then be set for a hearing. A hearing is normally presided over by a legally qualified chairperson, called an employment judge, and two lay members, one drawn from a panel of employer representatives, the other from a panel of employee reps.
A pre-hearing review can be called where an employment judge or full tribunal can order one of the parties to pay a deposit if they believe the case has little chance of success. A deposit is £500, but this is currently under review.
Common claims include unfair dismissal, unlawful deduction from wages, redundancy pay, discrimination, equal pay, parental rights, claims arising from the Working Time Regulations and trades union rights.
Time limits
Most time limits are set at three months, but this can be extended. An extension may happen in unfair dismissal cases where it was not ‘reasonably practical’ to present the claim in time, and in discrimination cases where it is “just and equitable to do so.
Appeals
These are heard by an Employment Appeal Tribunal. To appeal there must have been an error of law or a perverse judgment.