Employment tribunals

Role of employment tribunals

• To function as an independent tribunal

• To resolve disputes between employer and employee

• To Hear disputes between employees and employers where the employee thinks they have been treated unlawfully, for example in cases of:

o unfair dismissal, discrimination, unfair deductions from pay, breach of contract.

o reinstatement of employee

• Employment tribunals operate differently to other tribunals. They provide an alternative system of judgement

compared to formal court proceedings. They were created by the Industrial Training Act 1964 and they are now governed under Constitution and Rules of Procedure Regulations 2013.

Industrial Training Act 1964

Created employment tribunals

Constitution and Rules of Procedure Regulations 2013.

governs employment tribunals

Composition

Each employment tribunal is made up of three members: A legally qualified chair, a representative of employers, a representative of employees.

Before the hearing

In nearly all employment cases, you have to tell an organisation called ACAS you want to make a tribunal claim. ACAS is a government-funded body whose job is to help with workplace disputes. Telling ACAS starts a process called early conciliation. When early conciliation finishes, the C get a document called an ‘early conciliation certificate’. The certificate has a number the C need to put on their employment tribunal claim form.

Starting a claim

• To start a claim, the claimant (employee) completes an ET 1 form outlining the details of the claim. When the claim has been received by the employment tribunal, an ET 3 form is sent to the respondent (employer) who completes it in response to the claim and returns it to the employment tribunal with counter arguments to the original claim.

• The employment tribunal will then set a date and time for the hearing.

Before the tribunal

• Tribunal Judge chairing the hearing reads the papers in the case and considers how to proceed when the hearing begins.

• They set appropriate directions to ensure that the right documents and witnesses are available at any hearing.

• Encourage parties to co-operate with each other

• Help parties to settle the case.

• Controlling the progress of the case

Tribunal process

• The respondents, claimant and their representatives attend hearing before 10am with witnesses. All parties sign in and they are directed to their respective waiting rooms.

• The Court clerk will list the witnesses and ask them if they wish to give evidence either on a holy book or to affirm.

• The clerk will collect copies of any statements and documents that will be referred to during the hearing.

• The judge will welcome parties and witnesses, if one party is not represented, the judge will explain the process.

• One party will start the case depending on the type of case, the witnesses will be sworn in. The witnesses will then

• give evidence and cross examined by the other side, the judge may ask questions and witnesses may be re-examined. There will then be closing submissions by both sides, the court will adjourn to decide. The decision is delivered, and a remedy hearing commences if appropriate.

Fees, costs and penalties

In 2017, the cost of taking an employment tribunal are no longer after a Supreme Court Ruling. Unlike court, you don't automatically have to pay your employer’s legal costs if you lose the case. You may still pay your representative, depending on what you agreed beforehand. Employer can be taken to court if they do not pay, A person could be re-hired.

The decision

• Tribunal Chairmen or Tribunal Judges may be assisted in their decision-making by other legally qualified members, or by experienced specialist panel members. Specialist members do not act as expert witnesses but bring to the panel their experience of their particular field. All legal matters remain the Tribunal Judge’s responsibility. All of the panel members take part in the decision.

• The Tribunal’s decision is given either at the hearing, or in writing later. In either case, the parties will get a written decision.

• Employment tribunals decisions include compensation or reinstatement of an employee.

Employment appeals tribunals

The losing party can ask for extended reasons, once reasons come back, 42 days to appeal but the grounds of appeal must be based on legal argument and not solely on factual issues. The Employment Appeals Tribunal will consider grounds of appeal and will do one of two things: Arrange hearing date, Order preliminary hearing to decide if appeal may proceed to full hearing, Claim will not proceed unless there is legal point which has legal merit for a full hearing