Employees who have suffered ill treatment at work often get pushed so far that they find that there is little option but to submit a claim at the employment tribunal.
The treatment suffered can include a range of things such discrimination, unpaid wages or holiday pay or bullying and harassment. Employees may find that a member of the opposite sex is being paid more than them for the same type of work or in many cases, an employer has simply taken a dislike for an employee resulting in a dismissal.
However, there are laws which prevent employers from discriminating against their staff, from failing to pay wages that are owed and from dismissing people without good reason. The question then arises as to how do you enforce these rights?
How to Submit a Claim
In most cases, there is a time limit of 3 months from the event you are complaining about to bring claim so it is very important that you act quickly.
The process of submitting a claim is a little different depending on whether you live in Britain or Northern Ireland.
In Britain, before issuing a claim, you must first contact the conciliatory body ACAS to notify them of your intention to bring a claim. This will trigger a period of up to one-month in which a conciliation officer will see if there is any possibility to resolve the issue before a claim is submitted. During this period, the 3-month time limit stops running. If an agreement cannot be reached, ACAS issue a certificate which is required before a claim can be lodged. A claim will be rejected if this certificate has not been obtained.
In Northern Ireland, there is no requirement to contact any conciliatory body before issuing a claim.
A claim to the Tribunal must be submitted on specific form known as an ET1. These are available online at the Employment Tribunal website. There are different websites depending on where you live. The form asks for the personal details of the employee, details of the employer and details of the claim. There is a specific part of the form which asks for full details of allegations and why the actions of the employer are considered to be unlawful. It is important to include all of the matters you complain about here as it may prove difficult to amend the case at a later date.
The claim is then submitted either online, by post or by hand delivery to a Tribunal office. Submitting claims online is the safest way to do it as you receive an automated receipt so you can be certain it has been received by the Tribunal.
One further difference between Britain and Northern Ireland is that there are fees to pay if issuing a claim in Britain. There is no charge to issue a claim in NI. In Britain, the cost of issuing a claim is:
• £160 for wages claims
• £250 for claims such as unfair dismissal and discrimination
Most cases will cost £250. If you are in receipt of JSA, ESA, Income Support Universal Credit or the state pension and your savings (including shares or a second property) are less than £3,000 (or £16,000 if you or your partner are aged 61+), you are likely to qualify for remission of these fees.
We have arranged an insurance policy which we can offer you which will protect you against the risk of having to pay Tribunal fees should your case be lost.
After the claim is submitted, a copy is sent to the employer who has 28 days to respond. The response is lodged at the Tribunal before a copy is sent to you. The Tribunal will then list the case for a directions hearing in order to map out a timetable towards a full hearing.
Further fees will then be payable should the claim proceed to a full hearing at the following rates:
• £230 for wages claims
• £950 for claims such as unfair dismissal and discrimination
Do I Need Legal Representation?
Legal representation is not required in the employment tribunal. The process is supposed to be claimant friendly to enable people to run their own claims without representation. However, the legislation and rules of procedure remain incredibly complex. Legal representation will take a lot of the stress from the case as well as significantly increasing your chances of succeeding.
We have help thousands of people recover millions of pounds in compensation having submitted claims.
We are here to help you too.
We have a number of options regarding funding a case (see here).
You can see testimonials from clients we have helped here.
Need help?
For a FREE assessment of your claim, call 0808 168 7288 or fill in the contact form on the top right of this page.
We have already helped thousands of people to win millions of pounds in compensation.
You have a choice of ways to pay, including ‘no win, no fee’.
We will also discuss the best methods of funding your case and seek to reach a solution that best suits your needs. This can involve a “no-win, no-fee” agreement if appropriate.