By Amanda Hamilton, NALP
The reasons an employee might take their employer to tribunal are various: Poor pay, discrimination and sexual harassment are among the most common.
Also, if you’ve been working for an employer for two years, and have been dismissed due to, or during, maternity, paternity or adoption leave, or jury service, or you have been forced to retire, this may be deemed unfair dismissal. Alternatively, if you feel you’ve been forced to leave because staying in your job is untenable, then this may be construed as constructive dismissal.
In all these cases, you are entitled to bring an action against your employer through an employment tribunal. Traditionally, tribunals were created to be less costly and a speedier form of resolving disputes. Taking your employer to a tribunal doesn’t need to involve the services or the costs of a solicitor. There is plenty of information and guidance online, and virtually all the work can be done electronically.
Begin by filling in an ET1 form which can be found on Gov.UK. This is a very important form in which you can make a statement about your claim. If the case does go to a hearing, this is the first document the tribunal will read so it’s essential all the facts are clear and focused on your claim.
Since July 2017, there’s no fee to pay to make your claim at a tribunal, although there’s a small chance you could be asked to pay your employer’s cost of going to court if you lose. However, if you’ve followed the process correctly, it’s unlikely you’ll have to pay costs so preparing your claim carefully should be a priority. This is where the help of a paralegal, who can offer the same advice as a solicitor but generally charges considerably less, might be worth considering.
When filling in the ET1 form give a clear, concise account of what the claim is about. You should include all the key events but avoid going into an enormous amount of detail and number each paragraph for easy reference. When complete, be clear whether it is you or your advisor who is submitting the form to the Central Office of Employment Tribunals as there are strict time limits. In most cases a claim has to be submitted three months, less a day, from the date of dismissal and claims that arrive late won’t be considered.
When the ET1 form has been received by the tribunal, a copy will be sent to the employer who will then send their response to it on an ET3 form which you should receive back within around four weeks.
If at all possible, it’s really best to try and solve the problem through conciliation and your first port of call should be the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS). In the event the employer refuses to settle and you find you are facing a tribunal you need to decide whether you are going to represent yourself of engage a representative. If you use the services of a paralegal they will do all the preparation for you and will act as your representative at the tribunal.
There’s nothing to worry about if you do have to attend a tribunal, they are more relaxed than courts.
Ensure you arrive in plenty of time. On arrival, check in with the clerk who will ask if you have a representative and for any documents, witness statements and a certificate from ACAS to prove you’ve spoken to them.
If you’re not being represented you should have any notes you have made in the workplace, emails, letters or text messages between yourself and your boss along with any copies of witness statements supporting your case.
You’ll be asked to wait in a room until you’re called. It’s at this point a representative from the employer could approach you and try to negotiate a last-minute settlement. Don’t be intimidated by this and do not to let them pressure you into withdrawing your case or to settle if you don’t feel the offer is good enough.
Once inside the tribunal there will be a chairperson who will be legally qualified with experience in this area of law, together with two non-legally qualified individuals (perhaps an experienced employer, HR expert or a trade union representative).
Be honest! If you are found to have given false information, it may go against you. Although the process of a tribunal case is very straightforward and quite similar to a hearing in court, the testimony is not given on oath. That means that you are not asked to make an affirmation tell the truth under a penalty of perjury (as you would do in court).
The case starts with the employee stating their case and giving evidence and then the employer is asked to respond.
Usually, tribunal decisions are given quite quickly – sometimes on the same day or within a few days or weeks of the hearing. If you win, then the tribunal will indicate what steps can be taken to compensate you and give a time stipulation. If this is not adhered to, then enforcement proceedings can be taken.
If you lose your case, you have 14 days to request that the tribunal re-considers its decision. If you are still unhappy with the decision, you can appeal.
Although a tribunal is a reasonably straightforward process, unless you have experience of speaking in public and a good knowledge of the law in this subject, it can be daunting to do it all yourself.
Engaging a paralegal, who has training and legal knowledge, will take the stress out of the situation and will ensure the case doesn’t collapse because of a lack of the right documents or any unforeseen error in paperwork
More information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/courts-tribunals/employment-tribunal.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amanda Hamilton is Chief Executive of the National Association of Licenced Paralegals (NALP), a non-profit Membership Body and the only Paralegal body that is recognised as an awarding organisation by Ofqual (the regulator of qualifications in England). Through its training arm, NALP Training, accredited recognised professional paralegal qualifications are offered for a career as a paralegal professional.
See: http://www.nationalparalegals.co.uk and http://www.nalptraining.co.uk/nalp_training
Twitter: @NALP_UK
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NationalAssocationsofLicensedParalegals/
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-hamilton-llb-hons-840a6a16/
