Four key things to consider before bringing a claim in the employment tribunal
1. ACAS And Time Limits
Most claims need to be presented to the tribunal within three months of the date they arise. However, if you want to make a claim to an employment tribunal, you must inform the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (‘ACAS’) first. ACAS will offer the option of ‘early conciliation’. This free service can help resolve the issue before a claim is even made.
A claim to an employment tribunal must usually be made within 3 months less 1 day.
If the claim is in relation to redundancy pay or equal pay, the claim must be made within 6 months.
Claimants have a minimum of 1 calendar month from the date of receipt of the certificate from ACAS to make a claim to the employment tribunal. In some cases, you might have longer than 1 month to make your claim. Working out the exact time limit can be complicated and depends on the particular circumstances of each claim.
Time limits in relation to all employment matters are extremely important and may seriously adversely affect your claim or even prevent you from claiming altogether if not adhered to.
It is vital to seek expert legal advice from a specialist as soon as possible in order to ensure that all time limits are complied with when making a claim in any employment matter.
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2. Eligibility Criteria
It is important to carefully consider whether you satisfy the eligibility criteria attached to the claims you wish to make.
For example:
- Certain claims, such as unfair dismissal, can only be brought be employees and not workers
- Employee shareholders have more limited statutory rights than employees but greater rights than workers
- Special protections apply to agency workers, under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/93) (AWR 2010) and other legislation (where they would not otherwise qualify as workers or employees), and to “zero hours workers” under the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996).
3. The Identity Of The Respondent Or Respondents
In some circumstances it may be appropriate to bring a claim against more than one respondent. For example, TUPE claims may be brought against both the transferor and the transferee and in certain types of discrimination claims, as well as whistleblowing detriment claims, there might be an option of including individuals connected to the employer as named co-respondents with the employer. The identity of the respondent(s) will depend on the facts of each individual case.
4. The Financial Aspects Of Bringing A Claim
There are three financial aspects that must be taken into account when considering making an employment claim:
- Is the claim is of sufficient value?
- Will incurring the legal costs outweigh any potential award?
- Is the respondent unlikely to pay the award for any reason?
These issues must be carefully explored before embarking on any employment claim.
About Ventura Law
Himanshu has been in the profession for over 25 years and is an experienced and highly skilled commercial lawyer, litigator and employment law adviser. He is analytical, methodical and always strives to ensure the best outcome is achieved for his clients.
Himanshu regularly represents directors, as well as shareholders and business owners in the range of legal matters that can arise. He is particularly experienced in employment disputes, and issues between partners, shareholders and directors.
Himanshu is also regularly instructed by other lawyers, accountants, doctors, dentists, surveyors, etc in their legal matters.
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Anything posted in this article is for general information only and is not intended to provide legal advice.