Employment Tribunals

What is an Employment Tribunal?

Tribunals have a wide jurisdiction to resolve disputes between employers and employees including claims for unfair dismissal and sex, race and disability discrimination. They also deal with contractual claims e.g. for non-payment of wages.

A Tribunal may consist of a legally qualified Chairman sitting alone or a legally qualified Chairman sitting together with two non-legally qualified members, one drawn from a panel of employer representatives and another from a panel of employee representatives.

A Tribunal is less formal than a Courtroom - The Chairman or panel sit usually at a slightly raised table at the front with the Applicant and Respondent and their representatives and witnesses facing them. Witnesses giving evidence do so at a table usually to the side. Evidence is generally given on oath.

Time limits

An application for unfair dismissal must be submitted to the Tribunal within three months of the date of termination of employment. In discrimination claims the application must be submitted within three months of the act of discrimination. A claim for a redundancy payment must be submitted within six months of termination of employment. An application to an Employment Tribunal is made on form ET1 and is called an Originating Application.

When the Originating Application has been received by the Tribunal a copy will be sent by the Tribunal office to the employer. The employer has twenty one days from the date of the Tribunal letter to file a reply. The reply is known as a Notice of Appearance and filed on Form ET3.

A copy of the Notice of Appearance will be sent by the Tribunal office to the Applicant or his/her representative.

The case will be put in a list for hearing by the Tribunal. The Tribunal lists for hearing vary considerably but as at the beginning of 2002 the date for hearing is approximately six months from the filing of an Originating Application although it may be sooner. The timescale can be subject to considerable variation. Usually, at least two weeks notice of the date of hearing will be given.

Further and Better Particulars of Originating Application and/or Notice of Appearance

A procedure exists that allows either side or the Tribunal itself to request further information of either the Originating Application or the Notice of Appearance in order to clarify the issues involved.

ACAS

In most cases (except, for example, redundancy payment cases) the Tribunal sends copies of all relevant documents to the Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS).

ACAS is an independent body which is not part of the Tribunal Service. ACAS acts as an impartial intermediary and will try to assist both sides to reach a settlement. Settlements reached with ACAS’s assistance are finalized by way of a written agreement between the Applicant and the Employer. This will usually provide that in return for the Employer paying the Applicant a specified sum of compensation the Applicant agrees not to continue the existing proceedings or pursue any new claim against the Employer in the future.

The involvement of ACAS will often facilitate a settlement with which both parties are content and avoids the uncertainty and expense of a Tribunal hearing.

Hearing Date

If the matter is not settled then at least fourteen days before the hearing the Tribunal will notify the parties (through their representatives) of the time, date and place of hearing. The case will usually be heard at the nearest Tribunal to the place of work and is decided by the postcode of that place of work. If a party is unable to attend on the day listed for hearing the Tribunal must be notified and a request made that the matter be re-listed. Any delay in notification to the Tribunal may result in a refusal to re-list.

Preliminary hearings

Either side or the Tribunal itself can request a preliminary hearing to consider a wide range of matters before the main hearing. You will not usually be required to attend such a hearing when you are represented. You may attend if you wish but we will notify you of the outcome whether you attend or not.

The hearing

The procedure during the hearing is orderly, but less formal and more flexible than in the ordinary Courts.

The duration of the hearing will depend upon how many witnesses are to attend to give evidence and how long each witness takes. Witness statements will usually have been prepared for you and your witnesses and will have been approved by you before the hearing. You and your witnesses will read from the statements in order to give evidence. We may also ask you or your witnesses one or two questions to expand upon certain areas or to answer points made by the other side or its witnesses. You and your witnesses will be cross-examined by the other side or its representative on the evidence that you have given in your statement.

There is then an opportunity to re-question you to clarify anything brought up in cross-examination. The Tribunal will ask you any questions they feel appropriate. The same procedure will then be followed for the other side and its witnesses.

The nature of the claim dictates whether the Applicant or the Respondent gives evidence first. Generally, in unfair dismissal cases, the employer will go first. In constructive dismissal, discrimination and claims where dismissal is disputed the Applicant will go first.

Witnesses with first hand knowledge of your complaint are important as they support your claim. It is possible to get a witness order from the Tribunal compelling witnesses to attend to give evidence as to what happened or what was said. This may make it easier for witnesses to attend if they still work for your employer as the Tribunal will order them to be present.

It is necessary for you to give evidence about the attempts that you have made to find alternative employment and to reduce your losses. Proof of job applications, interviews, Jobseekers Allowance and Jobseekers records are essential.

The Decision

A Tribunal can order that you be :-

· Reinstated
· Re-employed in another location or position
· Compensated

You need to decide when making an application which remedy you seek. The Tribunal will often give a decision with a full explanation of its reasons on the day of hearing. Alternatively the Tribunal may provide a decision on the day but wait for some weeks before giving full reasons in writing. On other occasions a Tribunal will not give a decision on the day and give both its decision and the full reasons for it in writing some weeks after the hearing.

Compensation

In unfair dismissal cases if neither re-instatement nor re-employment is granted the compensation that you can hope to receive, if your claim is successful, is made up of two elements. These are the basic award and the compensatory award.