Start here A very basic guide to the UK Employment Tribunal process...
Employment is a contract in which you exchange your time and skills for money. If you are not paid as agreed, you have legal rights. If your job is unfairly taken away from you, you have legal rights. If you feel forced to leave your job, or are discriminated against or harassed in the workplace, you have legal rights. SueMyEmployer.co.uk is here to help you understand those legal rights and exercise them; resolving your dispute, obtaining a financial settlement; or taking your employer to a tribunal.
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The first thing to be aware of is just because something feels unfair, it doesn’t mean it’s illegal. If you’re being targeted at work it’s important to differentiate between bullying (not illegal) and discrimination (illegal). You should always try and sort employment problems out internally first, such as raising a grievance or using the appeal process. If you’re being put through a disciplinary process for misconduct, capability or sickness, it’s worth being aware of what the law says should happen in these situations. If you lose your job, either through dismissal or being forced to resign, you may have a legal case depending on the reasons. Where you have unpaid wages or feel your redundancy was not for a genuine reason, there are legal protections to get you what you are owed.
Once you believe you have a legal case you should contact ACAS to start conciliation with your employer. It’s important not to delay in doing this as there are strict deadlines to adhere to if you decide to take the matter to tribunal. ACAS will offer support on your individual circumstances and facilitate a conversation between you and your employer. As this is essentially a negotiation, it’s worth knowing how much a claim might be worth if you decided to take it further. It’s also worth understanding the legal tests a judge will use, to help you consider the strength of your arguments. If conciliation is successful it may result in a financial settlement, better conditions at work, or even written apologies and agreed references. If conciliation is unsuccessful, you may decide to take the matter to the courts.
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If conciliation fails ACAS will provide you with a certificate number. This number is needed to submit an ET1 form, the initial paperwork needed to start a tribunal claim. The tribunal service is severely backlogged and it could take several months to hear back, so patience is very important. Once your ET1 form has been reviewed by a judge it will either be returned with instructions or passed along to your employer. Your employer, if they choose to engage in the process, will reply with an ET3 form. This paperwork will outline their grounds of resistance. Whilst this document may include lies and possibly legal threats, you should not reply, rather await further instruction from the tribunal.
Depending on the complexity of the case, you will either have dates for a final hearing listed along with information about necessary preparation, or you will be invited to a preliminary hearing. Preliminary hearings usually happen by phone or computer and bring together both parties and a judge, to make decisions on matters which are important to ensure a fair final hearing. Usual things decided in these hearings include deciding the list of issues, deciding on whether you meet relevant legal definitions (such as whether you have a protected characteristic, including disability, or whether you were/are an employee), amending a claim, or other case management orders.
Between the employer’s ET3 being accepted and the final hearing, you will need to liaise with the employer to complete a number of tasks. In many cases, the employer (referred to as the ‘Respondent’) will be legally represented. Regardless, both parties are expected to cooperate with each other and behave reasonably, no matter the breakdown in relationships. Whilst there will be exceptions, the first document you will normally need to produce is a Schedule of Loss, which outlines your desired amount of compensation. Knowing what you can claim for and how much is not simple, so make sure to do your research including how maximise an injury to feelings award and consider claiming for damages to mental health. Negotiations for financial settlement are encouraged throughout the proceedings. ACAS will always be available to you, but you may also be invited to judicial mediation or alternative dispute resolution talks whilst your case is ongoing.
It’s important to start gathering your evidence as early as possible, using DSARs and court orders if necessary. You will be required to disclose all evidence you have relating to your case, even if it is not in your favour. The Respondent will also disclose their evidence. Both parties are to agree which documents/evidence will then be included in the joint trial bundle. In the majority of cases, it is the Respondent who is obligated to organise the preparation of the bundle. Be prepared for the Respondent to use dirty tricks during this process, and don’t be afraid to object when appropriate.
Once the bundle has been agreed and produced (you can ask for a physical copy to be delivered to you) there should be no further evidence disclosed. Both parties will then need to write a witness statement for every person attending the final hearing. The witness statements, which will refer to page numbers in the joint trial bundle, are extremely important for the judge to understand the facts of the case. All witness statements should be exchanged at the same time to ensure fairness and cannot be changed once sent (without approval from a judge).
A final hearing will take place either online (with webcams) or in a physical location. A judge will either sit alone or with a panel, who will read the witness statements and any relevant documents within the bundle. Once the reading has been completed, cross examination will start. The order will depend on the case. You will be asked questions by both the judge and the Respondent, primarily about what you have written in your witness statement and the evidence within the bundle. You, or your legal representation, will then question the Respondent’s witnesses. It’s important not to ask irrelevant questions and instead focus on the list of issues, helping show the judge where the law has been broken.
After cross examination both parties will be given the opportunity to summarise their case and present written submissions. These should focus on the legal reasoning and argue why the judge should rule in your favour. The judge will likely make their decision at the final hearing, although in some cases this may be deferred. If you have won any of your claims and there is enough time, remedy may be discussed and ordered at the final hearing. In other cases, a remedy hearing will be listed. At a remedy hearing you will need to present evidence to support the amount of compensation you want, and the Respondent will try to have this refused or reduced.
