Legal aid is not ordinarily available for representation before an Employment Tribunal. Don’t let that worry you because any case we will represent you on the basis of ‘no win, no fee’. That means you do not pay us a single penny if we don’t win. Not only that, you will find our fees are far more modest than those charged by other so-called claims specialists or by solicitors.
Have you been subjected to unfair dismissal, race discrimination, sex discrimination, disability discrimination, or otherwise treated unfairly by your employer?
Or is your employer in breach of your employment contract or employment law by failing to respond to your grievance or use a fair disciplinary procedure?
Or are you owed money by your employer? If so, contact us for help.
Remember that employment law is complex, especially since the 'dispute resolution' regulations which came into force on the 1st October 2004 were repealed on 6th April 2009. The new less formal steps under ACAS codes of practice may make it easier for employers to dismiss staff because there will be less importance placed upon procedural errors.
Don’t go to an Employment Tribunal without us - this is even more important than it was under the old system!
Dismissals for certain reasons are 'automatically unfair'. If a dismissal takes places for one of those reasons, all the employee has to show for a successful claim against the employer is that the dismissal was for that reason.
Other dismissals may be unfair depending on the circumstances. The majority of unfair dismissals fall into this second category.
A dismissal or selection for redundancy is automatically unfair if:
It is not enough for employers to show the reason falls within one of the above categories. Employers must
Protection for unfair dismissal in connection with a strike or lock out needs one of the following conditions to be fulfilled:
There is also a right to bring a claim for unfair dismissal if all or some employees are dismissed during an official strike or lockout but only a selected few are re-engaged within three months.
However there is no right time to bring a claim for unfair dismissal if the industrial action was unofficial.
All employees are covered for claims listed as automatically unfair dismissal. However in all other cases the protection is only available to employees who have at least one years' continuous service.
Employees who have reached normal retirement age are not covered, although this will change with age discrimination legislation.
A claim form must be lodged with the employment tribunal three months, less one day, from the effective date of termination of the contract of employment.
For example, if employment ended on
In sex, race and disability discrimination cases the time limit is three months from the act of discrimination (or the last act of discrimination complained of where there is a series of linked acts).
From October 2004, an employee must first follow the new statutory procedure that gives a right to appeal against dismissal. The three month time limit is extended by a further three months to allow this procedure to operate.
If a tribunal finds in favour of the employee claiming unfair dismissal it can order:
The maximum compensation award is presently £63,000 and the maximum basic award is £9,900. Unless the employee is a very high earner it is rare for tribunals to award this amount. Most will award for loss of earnings to the date of hearing plus a limited amount of future loss such as six months from the date of the hearing. The capped limits do not apply to cases where discrimination is upheld.
Reinstatement and re-engagement are rarely ordered by tribunals.
Some types of cases can attract special compensation such as if the reason for the unfair dismissal was related to trade union membership or action taken to avoid a dangerous health & safety situation.
From October 2004, compensation may be increased or reduced if either party failed to follow the new statutory dismissal and disciplinary procedure.
If the tribunal thinks the conduct of the employee contributed to the dismissal or that since the dismissal the employee has not acted to minimise his or her losses the compensation can be reduced.
In some special cases, an employee can apply urgently to the tribunal for an order for interim relief to reinstate pending the main hearing. Such cases include where the reason for the dismissal was for trade union or health & safety activities, as a pension fund trustee, acting in relation to union recognition or exercising rights to be accompanied to a disciplinary or grievance hearing.
An application for interim relief has to be made within seven days of the dismissal.
Constructive dismissal is where an employee resigns in circumstances where they are entitled to do so because of the employer's conduct. Constructive dismissal claims are extremely hard to win as it is necessary to prove that the employee was forced to leave as a result of a breach of their contract of employment by their employer. It must be shown that the breach was a serious one and that the employee left neither too quickly nor too long after the breach occurred. The tribunal will consider whether the employer had a fair reason for the contract of employment coming to an end and whether the employer had acted reasonably in all the circumstances.
From October 2004, unless there are special circumstances (e.g. threats or continuing harassment by the employer) the employee must write to the employer raising a grievance and attend one or two meetings before bringing an unfair constructive dismissal claim to an employment tribunal. The normal three months time limit is extended by a further three months to allow this to happen.
Compensation may be reduced if the applicant failed to follow the statutory grievance procedure.
Wrongful dismissal means dismissal in breach of contract.
Contracts can be both written or agreed verbally. In addition to the terms that have been written down and signed by both parties, or supplied and not disputed, there will be further terms. These may have been agreed verbally at an interview or during the employment relationship or they may arise from custom and practice. They could be imposed by law or found in a collective agreement made between the trade union and the employer.
Dispute may arise from employers and employees not agreeing on precisely what terms have been settled orally or are implied into the contact from custom and practice or otherwise.
An employer has an obligation to send every employee a written statement of their main terms and conditions. If this is not done or it is incorrect a claim can be made to the employment tribunal.
An employment relationship continues until retirement unless it is ended by the employer or employee or by mutual agreement (except in the case of fixed-term contracts). Unless one party is in breach of the contract then the party that wishes to terminate the contract must give the proper notice of intention to do so. If the employer fails to give notice, dismissal is wrongful.
However, the only remedy the law provides for in wrongful dismissal is payment in lieu of notice, which is the minimum set by law unless the employment contract states otherwise. If a contract provides for longer periods then that amount can be claimed. The amount awarded will usually be net of tax and national insurance and less any earnings from new employment during the notice period.
The minimum periods of notice required from an employer are as follows:
Pay in Lieu of Notice
If an employer dismisses an employee without payment then the employer is in breach of contract and the employee can sue for the wages they would have received if notice had been given.
Some employers are prepared to pay this sum gross rather than net, but entitlement depends on the contract of employment.