Employment Tribunals
Specialist advice for handling proceedings
Solicitors for Employment Tribunals
Workplace disputes can rapidly escalate to an Employment Tribunal, which can be time-consuming, disruptive and costly. Early advice from our legal specialists can maximise your chances of successfully defending your claim and protecting your reputation.
Our team of employment law and HR experts can work with you to proactively assess the situation and advise you of your options to reduce the impact on the business. This may include negotiating a settlement agreement or exit package.
Where a dispute results in an Employment Tribunal, our lawyers will defend the claim and ensure that the business presents its case effectively to maximise your chances of success.
What types of Employment Tribunal claims can an employee bring?
There are several different claims an employee can bring depending on the circumstances, including:
- Breach of contract: an employee claims that you have breached one or more of the terms of their employment contract
- Unfair dismissal: an employee claims that you did not dismiss them for a fair reason or they claim that you have acted unfairly in dismissing them on the basis of that reason
- Discrimination: an employee claims that you have discriminated against them on the basis of a protected characteristic (race, sexuality, religion, age, pregnancy or maternity, marriage or civil partnership, disability, gender reassignment, sexual orientation)
- Wrongful dismissal: an employee claims that the way they were dismissed breached the terms of their contract
Do employees have a time limit for making an Employment Tribunal claim?
Time limits for bringing an Employment Tribunal claim can vary depending on the nature of the claim.
For unfair dismissal claims, the employee has a time limit of three months from when their employment was effectively terminated to bring a claim.
In the case of discrimination, the employee has three months from the date of the act/last act complained of. For breach of contract claims an employee has up to six years to bring a claim.
In addition to bringing the claim, the employee should have contacted ACAS and begun the Early Conciliation period to see if the matter can be resolved without the need to go to Tribunal.
How do I respond to an Employment Tribunal claim?
Upon receiving an ET1 claim form from the claimant employee, the Employment Tribunal will give you the opportunity to respond to the claim.
At this point you should seek legal advice from 0ur lawyers to help you respond to the claim.
The ET3 response form you send should acknowledge and respond to all the allegations being made and be posted or emailed to the Tribunal office within 28 days of the date it was sent out.
It’s also worth checking that the claimant employee has:
- made their claim within the time limit
- met all the requirements for making a claim
- contacted ACAS and gone through the Early Conciliation process
before making an Employment Tribunal claim. We will check this on your behalf.
What is the Employment Tribunal process?
Once the process starts, there are three stages.
Preliminary hearing
This is to confirm the issues that need to be resolved, whether all or part of the claim can be dismissed and whether a deposit needs to be paid. It will also include any orders regarding documents and witnesses and details about the final hearing.
You need to prepare to give evidence about why it’s not possible to reinstate the employee. what you consider to be appropriate compensation and how you reached that amount.
Final hearing
When you arrive you’ll be asked about witnesses and whether you have any queries about documents. When all the evidence is heard, both sides can sum up and the Tribunal retires to consider their judgment.
A decision is made on the whole claim and whether it is successful and if so, what the remedy would be.
After the hearing
You will either be given a copy of the Tribunal’s judgment on the day of the hearing or sent a copy after the hearing.
The unsuccessful party can either accept the decision, or challenge the Tribunal’s findings by either requesting that the Tribunal reconsider its decision within 14 days of being sent the judgment. The unsuccessful party can also appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal within 42 days of the date the tribunal’s written reasons were sent to the parties.
If you’re considering appealing, it’s crucial that you get legal advice from our team.
Do I need a solicitor for an Employment Tribunal claim?
Whilst it’s not a legal requirement to instruct a solicitor for an Employment Tribunal claim, it can be useful to do. This so that when receiving a grievance from an employee, an Employment Tribunal claim form, or ACAS Early Conciliation notification we can ensure that you respond to the allegations thoroughly and make the strongest case for you.
An employment law solicitor can also advice on when it is in your best interests to make a settlement.
Why use Rothera Bray for employment tribunals?
Our employment law experts also work with individuals who feel that an employer or potential employer has treated them unfairly.
We have years of experience in dealing with complex cases of disagreements between employers and employees, and we have comprehensive knowledge of the law in this area.
We can advise you on your options such as negotiating a settlement or pursuing mediation. If we believe that an Employment Tribunal is right for your case, we’ll be with you all the way.
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