Essential Facts of Employment Tribunals

If you are involved in an employment tribunal claim it is vital to familiarise yourself with the relevant legal requirements before proceeding. For more information, you should also read our systematic guide of what to do next, or contact us via our free legal helpline.

Independent judicial bodies are responsible for dealing with employment tribunals and claims that relate to employment rights that arise from them. Generally, any decision made by an employment tribunal will be legally binding. Appeals are rare, but in some circumstances, permission to appeal may be granted.

The different types of claims

A raft of employment legislation governs which claims that can be brought to a hearing. Here are the most common types of claim:

• Equal pay disputes
• Unfair and constructive dismissal
• Breach of contract following termination of employment
• Discrimination issues

Employees can only make an unfair dismissal claim after they have actually been dismissed. However, other cases such as equal pay or discrimination claims can be brought whilst still employed by the employer that the claim is being made against. Should this happen it is very important for the employer not to make the claimant feel victimised. If they do feel this way, they could end up bringing another claim against their employer.

It is also possible for a claim to be brought by someone if they feel they were discriminated against when applying for a job in the first place.

Who can make a claim through an employment tribunal?

However, not everyone will qualify to make a claim through an employment tribunal.  For example, the law states that shareholder employees do not have the right to make an unfair dismissal claim. For more information about employment statuses and the right to claim, speak to us at Hylton-Potts.

Time limits also apply when it comes to making a claim. Those who started working for an employer prior to 6^th April 2012 need to have worked for the same firm for a year or more before being able to make a claim. For those who started work after 6^th April 2012 the qualifying period is two years.

When someone is dismissed, except in the case of gross misconduct, they have to be given notice. The amount of notice that needs to be given is largely dependent on the length of service. It is important to understand that the notice date is the one used to determine if someone has been working at a firm long enough to make an employment claim not the date the employee was first told that they were to be dismissed.

For certain cases, there is no qualifying period. A person can be employed for a few days or weeks and potentially still bring the following kinds of cases to tribunal:

• Any dismissal that is categorised as ‘automatically unfair’. Use the Hylton Potts free helpline to find out more about the automatically unfair category.
• Cases that involve discrimination of any kind
• Dismissal because of political affiliation or opinion
• Claims concerning unlawful deductions
• Equal pay or terms and conditions claims
• Claims that involve people being dismissed or victimised for exercising a statutory right for which there is no qualifying period, for example the rights outlined in the Working Time Regulations.

Deadlines and limitation periods

There are limits to how long an employee has to bring a claim to an employment tribunal. Usually that time limit is within three months of:

• The date on which the matter being complained about occurred
• The date employment ended, including the period of notice.

However, there are some exceptions to this time limit. Here are some of them:

Equal Pay – If a claimant is still working in the same job, for the same employer there is no time limit for bringing a claim. Should a claimant’s employment has ended they have six months to bring their claim from the date they left.  A claimant that has a new contract with the same employer they have six months from the last day they worked under their old contract to bring a claim.

Payments following redundancy – Statutory redundancy pay claims have to be brought within six months of the date employment ended.

An overview of tribunal fees

The claimant needs to pay the tribunal fees, and do so in advance. Here is a summary of the fees:

Type A claims – e.g. statutory redundancy cases or other Wages Act cases. For these, the costs are a hearing fee of £230 and an issue fee of £160.

Type B claims – e.g. unfair dismissal or discrimination claims. For these, the costs are a hearing fee of £1250 and an issue fee of £250.

Claimants who are unable to afford these fees can apply for them to be waived. Sometimes tribunals order the losing party to reimburse the hearing and issue fees to the winner.

If a party lodges an appeal against the tribunal’s decision through the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT), they need to pay an issue fee of £400 and a hearing fee of £1,200.

Discrimination cases and the use of questionnaires

For discrimination cases, the claimant can submit a questionnaire, which is usually done before proceedings begin. Contact the Hylton Potts team for more information about questionnaires and their use in discrimination cases.

Possible rulings

The remedy the tribunal decides upon depends largely on the kind of claim that has been brought.  The law limits the amount of compensation that can be awarded.

For unfair dismissal cases, the tribunal can order the following:

• Re-engagement – the employer has to give the claimant another job that is similar to the one that was lost
• Reinstatement – the employer is ordered to give the claimant their old job back with the same pay levels and working conditions
• Financial compensation

However, for obvious reasons, it is rare for tribunals to order reinstatement or re-engagement. They normally award compensation. The financial award for unfair dismissal is made up of:

• A loss of earnings award to cover lost wages and in some cases extra expenses incurred by the claimant. Compensation for a claimant is restricted to 12 months’ gross pay or the statutory maximum allowed, whichever is lower. If there was a failure to comply with the Acas Code of Practice on Discipline and Grievance, the level of compensation can be adjusted by up to 25%. For more information on the Acas Code of Practice, contact Hylton Potts’s free legal helpline.
• A basic award based on length of service and age. For example, 1.5 weeks gross pay for every year worked for those aged over 41, but only 0.5 weeks for those aged under 21. Any statutory redundancy payment already made is deducted from the award.

If an employer fails to reinstate an employee when told to do so and the claimant tells them, the tribunal may award additional compensation.

The level of compensation is unlimited for dismissal cases. It can sometimes include compensation for injury to feelings. The tribunal may make additional recommendations such as the introduction of equal opportunities training and updating the company’s discrimination guidelines.

For equal pay cases, the claimant may be awarded the difference between their actual pay and that of other higher paid employees who carry out the exact same role. This award covers up to six years of pay.

The amount of compensation awarded for breach of contract is limited to £25,000.

Who pays legal representation costs?

It is rare for an employment tribunal to award costs or expenses. They will only do so in exceptional circumstances such as where a party has acted in an unreasonable manner.