UK EMPLOYMENT LAW

Employment Tribunals are judicial bodies established to resolve disputes involving UK employment law.

This page deals with dismissal related issues. For more on industrial disease claims please view our related services website.

A Tribunal is less formal than a Magistrates Court or County Court but, like a Court, it has procedures and rules. They hear applications and appeals about employment matters. Such matters include disability discrimination; sex discrimination; unfair dismissal, race discrimination; redundancy payments, as well as issues such as pregnancy discrimination, unlawful dismissal and breach of contract.
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Most cases are heard at permanent tribunal offices although additional centres are hired where necessary. An Employment Tribunal is like a court but it is not as formal, for example, nobody wears a wig or gown. However, similar to a court it has a duty to act independently and cannot give legal advice. Almost all hearings held in tribunals are open to the public.

Health & Safety breaches - PAT and Electrical Testing

Employers may be accountable at a Tribunal if an employee takes a case forward on health and safety breaches. The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 make it obligatory for employers to have a sensible regime or program in place for the inspection and maintenance of electrical equipment in the workplace. This is to reduce the risk of electrical accidents or injuries. PAT testing is one way to comply with these regulations and more and more firms are adopting rigorous testing procedures. Periodic testing has also become mandatory with installations requiring testing at least once every 5 years.

Three people usually sit in a tribunal hearing. These are known as members. The 'Chairman' is legally qualified and is appointed by the Lord Chancellor. The Chairman directs the hearing very similar to how a judge does in a normal court case. The other two members are lay members (not legally qualified) and are appointed by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry from persons with experience in dealing with work related problems. Although the three members are appointed by Government Ministers, they are still very much independent and are not influenced by the Government in any way.
 

The tribunal will always send a written decision and its reasons for making that decision to the parties or to their representatives. There are limited rights to apply for a review of the decision, or to lodge an appeal against it to the Employment Appeal Tribunal within set time limits. Please contact Winston Solicitors for further advice.
 

The vast majority of tribunal hearings are within the public domain. This means that the press are free to attend and report the proceedings. There are a number of exceptions to this rule:
 

Where a case involves allegations of sexual misconduct (which may, or may not be a sexual offence), the tribunal has the power to make a 'Restricted Reporting Order'. Essentially the order prevents the press from naming specific individuals until the tribunal has sent out its written decision.
 

If a case involves allegations of a sexual offence, the names of all those affected by the allegation are left out of all public records.

A Tribunal can:
make a decision on whether or not the law has been broken
award back pay up to a maximum of six years starting from the date you lodged your claim with the tribunal, (depending on how long you have been doing equal work)
agree to a settlement that can include terms that could not be or are unlikely to be ordered by a Tribunal
persuade the Respondent to improve their workplace practices, for example by carrying out an equal pay review and introducing an equal pay policy
order that each side keeps the details of the case and the settlement agreement strictly confidential
agree an apology

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Potential concerns of taking a claim to tribunal
 

Costs: if you take the claim yourself and do not employ a lawyer, the claim will cost you very little. Most of your expenses (travel, loss of earnings etc) can be reclaimed from the Tribunal. Even if you lose, you are unlikely to be asked to pay the costs of the Respondent unless you acted unreasonably.
Time Pressures: taking a claim will inevitably make demands on your time and emotional energy. Employers do not have to give you paid time off work to attend Employment Tribunal hearings and the preparatory steps are time consuming. Litigation is invariably stressful and some applicants find that taking a claim can dominate their lives.

Publicity: Employment Tribunal hearings are held in public. The press occasionally attend hearings and can report proceedings. A settlement could include agreements by either side to keep certain matters confidential.
 

The employer has Legal Representation: not surprisingly, many applicants fear being up against the employer's legally trained representatives. Although legal representation has advantages, the fact remains that if you have a good equal pay case and prepare your claim according to this Guide, you should succeed. The Tribunal Chairman will make special efforts to assist you with the procedure at the Employment Tribunal.
 

Fear of Victimisation by the employer at work or, if you have left, fear that your employer will give you a bad reference. The SDA protects you and your witnesses from being victimised, or less favourably treated, because you have made a claim of equal pay.

We are a firm of solicitors that operates in all areas of UK employment law. Winston solicitors take the worries out of Tribunal work. If you feel you have a claim suitable for a tribunal contact us and let us do the worrying for you. We offer free advice on whether you have a good case, how to start a claim and how much it will be worth. We give clear advice on how we finance your claim which may include no win no fee arrangements in appropriate cases. If after talking to us you decide not to take matters further you are under no obligation to do so and you will not be charged for our initial advice session.

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If we represent you we guarantee:

We work on a No win No fee basis

You deal with regulated solicitors from the moment you call

Your claim will be handled by competent employment law professionals

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