Fixed Fee Employment Tribunal Representation for Employees and Employers.

Early Conciliation (EC) is mandatory for all claims. Before employees can issue a claim at an Employment Tribunal, they must contact Acas and submit an EC form online. Acas will provide conciliation to attempt to reach a settlement between you and your employee. If settlement is not reached, or either of you refuses to engage, Acas will issue an EC certificate so that your employee can proceed with the employment tribunal claim.

The usual time limit for issuing a tribunal claim for most claims is 3 months less one day from the termination of your employment (usually this the last day you were paid), or other event giving rise to your claim (for example, the last act of discrimination). This is varied by the ACAS Early Conciliation process which stops the clock. The limitation period is relatively short and there is much to do so you should not delay.

The full hearing to decide most types of employment tribunal claim is usually heard by a panel consisting of an employment judge (who is legally qualified) and two non-legally-qualified members. One of the non-legally-qualified members will have a background giving an employer’s perspective (for example as an employer or member of a trade organisation) and the other will have a background giving an employee’s perspective (usually as a trade union representative). Some hearings are heard and decided by an employment judge sitting alone. This is the case for unfair dismissal claims, unless the tribunal directs otherwise

No. The sequence of events would be that the case would go first to an Employment Tribunal, then on appeal to an Employment Appeal Tribunal, then to the Court of Appeal (the Court of Session in Scotland) and then to the Supreme Court (which replaced the House of Lords as the final UK appeal court on 31 July 2009).

Whether you are an employer or employee, the law is complex. Legal representation can help guide you through the process. If you are feeling the stress and anxiety of dealing with a work problem, expert employment tribunal advice for employers and employees from ELS can offer support.

We offer a free initial consultation to discuss your situation, your objectives and your options. If you instruct our employment law solicitors for businesses to represent you, we will set out our fixed fee in advance based on the specific nature of your case.

When a claim form (ET1) is issued and sent to the employer, the covering letter from the tribunal will specify the deadline by which the response (ET3) must be received. The employer should act as quickly as possible if they discover that the deadline has been missed. The employment tribunal rules allow a respondent to apply for an extension of the deadline even where the deadline has already passed. The application must be made in writing to the tribunal. It must set out the reason why the employer is seeking an extension. Under rule 21 of the Employment Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/1237), if no response has been presented to the employment tribunal within the relevant time limit, an employment judge may issue a judgment on the information available, or may decide to hold a hearing.

When a claim form and response are received at the tribunal, an employment judge will consider the documents and decide whether or not there are arguable complaints and defences within the jurisdiction of the tribunal.