Contents

How and where to make a complaint
More information about Tribunals
How to make your claim

How and where to make a complaint

If you feel that you are not being treated fairly or that your rights are being denied to you, you may wish to take the matter further. REMEMBER - you are protected if you take action to assert one of your many statutory rights. You are covered by this from your first day at work.

As always you have a number of options!

• Firstly you can contact our advice line. For a set fee one of our Employment specialists will call you and talk through your problem, providing up to date and practical assistance.
• Another option is to contact a Solicitor. Employment Law is now too complex and important to be handled by generalist solicitors. You really need advice from a firm which has specialist Employment Lawyers.We are in the process of reaching agreement with law firms who will provide some initial help without a fee being charged. This is not yet available.

Many workers fear that they cannot afford the costs of seeking legal advice. Some Solicitors will provide some free initial advice - ask first! If you have car or household insurance do check your policy to see if you have legal expenses cover. If you do, speak to your Insurer to see if Employment Advice is covered. You may find that some of your legal costs are covered.

• If you are in a Trade Union, they should be able to assist and advise you. Talk to your Union Representative or a Full Time officer of the union. In some cases the union will provide support to take your claim to an Employment Tribunal, even as far as providing you with a Representative at the Tribunal hearing itself.
• You can make a complaint to an Employment Tribunal. If you would like more information on the Tribunal system and how to apply visit www.employmenttribunals.gov.uk/

You should not go to a tribunal if your claim is for a personal injury, including Stress at work claims. Tribunals do not handle personal injury claims. You should go to a legal advisor to decide the best and most appropriate route for your claim. If you are not sure which is the best route to use contact our advice line.

• Some claims are better made in the Courts rather than at a Tribunal. Personal injury claims, for example, should be made at a Court as they are not heard by Tribunals. Breach of contract claims for more than £25,000 should also be made at Court, as the Tribunal system only handles claims below this level. You cannot make the same claim in two courts, so it is very important to take advice before formally starting any legal action - this includes Tribunals. If you are not sure which is the best route to use contact our advice line.
• You can contact ACAS and ask for their advice or assistance. ACAS officers are very busy and it can be difficult to make contact. The ACAS helpline deals with over 750,000 calls per year and can provide you with some basic, general advice on employment problems. www.acas.org.uk
• You can seek advice from your local Citizen's Advice Bureau (CAB). They will also have the necessary forms to apply to Tribunal and may provide assistance with completing the forms. Remember though that CAB advisors are not often Employment experts and will usually only feel able to point you in the right direction for further guidance. www.nacab.org.uk/
• Some larger towns and cities have Legal Advice centres which will provide free or low cost advice on your problem. Ask the CAB or look in Yellow Pages.
• Have you a relative or family friend who is an employment specialist? If so it may be worth giving them a call in the first instance.

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More information about Tribunals

Tribunals are specialist courts that only deal with employment claims. It is very easy to make a complaint to a Tribunal. In fact you can even apply "on-line" using new technology. You do not have to have a legal representative at a Tribunal, in fact you can put your own case on the day if you feel able to do this. Normally costs are not awarded against you even if you lose your case. It is relatively simple to complete a tribunal application form - they are called ET1 forms. It is however best to get some advice before sending it off. This is because there are time limits and forms of words that should be used to give you the best chance of success at a Tribunal.You cannot normally change the nature of your claim at a later date. It is therefore important to get the content right before it goes into the system.

A tribunal will usually consist of 3 people. One will be the Chairperson who will be legally qualified.The other 2 are employment specialists but not necessarily legal experts, they will give practical advice to the Chair.

Originally tribunals were supposed to be quick and informal. However because of the high levels of compensation the process has become more formal as more and more employers and individuals take legal experts along with them.They are somewhat similar to a Magistrates Court. Witnesses are called and ,after swearing an oath in the witness box, are questioned by Representatives of both sides. This can be a daunting experience for some people.

If you would like more information on the Tribunal system and how to apply visit www.employmenttribunals.gov.uk

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How to make your claim

It is fairly straightforward to make a claim. Get hold of an Employment Tribunal Application form , complete it and send it in!

It really is pretty straightforward. Claim forms can be obtained from Acas, the local Job Centre, possibly your union rep too. You can fill in an application form "on-line" by going to the Employment tribunal web site www.employmenttribunals.gov.uk.

You do not need to have a legal representative, you can go on your own and state your case. The tribunal Chair should ensure that you are given every opportunity to make your points on the day. Most Employers these days are legally represented at tribunals, using solicitors or a barrister.

Unless you have acted in a "frivolous" manner, for example,by wasting time or pressing ahead with a pointless claim, you will not have to pay any costs, even if you lose the case.

You cannot get legal aid for tribunal work in England or Wales, but you may be able to in Scotland.

Although it is relatively easy, figures do show that you are more likely to be successful if you are represented. You should at least seriously consider taking some legal advice as you complete the form. The wording you use and the way you put your case are very important aspects. There are also time scales to be aware of... it is very important to get your claim in to the Tribunal system within the time scale allowed for the issue you are complaining of.

Most claims have to be made within 3 months of the incident, such as dismissal. Some claims allow 6 months, for example an equal pay claim.

Tribunals can, and do, accept claims made outside these limits - if there are good reasons given.For further advice on time limits and on making your claim, contact our advice line.

This next section contains information from the Employment Tribunal website

This section explains how to make a claim to an Employment Tribunal or respond to a claim made against you.

Make a claim

This section tells you what you must do before you make a claim, and gives guidance on filling in the claim form and sending it to a tribunal office, either onlineor by post.

You do not have to take advice before you make a claim to an Employment Tribunal. However, you may feel it is helpful to do so particularly, for example, if your claim involves discrimination.

Information needed before a claim can be accepted

Your claim cannot be accepted unless it meets certain conditions. For example, it cannot be accepted if you have not filled in one or more sections on the claim form where you must give information. By law, you must tell us:

• your name and address;
• the name and address of the respondent or respondents (the person or organisation against whom you are making a claim);
• the details of your complaint; and
• whether or not you are or were an employee of the respondent.

If you are, or were, an employee of the respondent

You need to tell us whether your claim relates to your dismissal. If you are or were an employee of the respondent and your claim or part of it does not relate to you being dismissed, you must also tell us:

• whether you have raised your complaint in writing with the respondent; and
• whether you have waited 28 days before presenting your claim to a tribunal office

If you have not done so, you must give a valid reason why you did not. You may want to get advice.

Most claims to Employment Tribunals must be made within very strict time limits. In most cases the tribunal must receive your claim within three months. This three months begins with the date your employment ended or when the matter you are complaining about happened. This means that if it happened on 1 March, the tribunal must receive your claim on or before 31 May. If it happened on 5 March, the tribunal must receive your claim on or before 4 June.

In certain circumstances, for example, when you write to your employer within the original time limit raising a grievance, these limits will be extended by three months - in other words, in most cases to six months.

If your claim is received outside the time limit, the tribunal will probably not be able to consider it unless there are exceptional reasons for the delay. For example, you may have been in hospital for the period when you should have made your claim.

If you send your claim to us before the dismissal or grievance procedures are completed and your case reaches a hearing, the tribunal may reduce any compensation awarded to you if it believes that the failure to complete the procedures was your fault.

You should get advice straight away if you believe that you were dismissed for one of the following reasons .

• Being involved with a union.
• Joining a union or choosing not to join one.
• Health and safety activities either as an employer's health and safety 'officer' or a worker's representative.
• Activities as a pension scheme trustee.
• Being, or proposing to become, an 'employee representative'.
• Shop workers and betting workers who refuse Sunday work.
• Certain provisions covered by the Working Time Regulations.

In these circumstances you can apply for an immediate re-employment order. However, the tribunal must receive your claim within seven days of your dismissal .

Where to send a claim

You can make your claim online.When you do so, it will go automatically to the tribunal office which will deal with your case. There is no need to send a copy of your form by post, but please print off a copy for your records.

If you wish to post your claim, use the postcode for the place where you normally worked to identify the tribunal office to which you should send it. If you have never worked for the respondent, use the postcode for the place where the matter which you are complaining about happened. In Scotland, all claims are initially processed by the Glasgow tribunal office and you should send your claim to that office. However, you may take your claim to the Aberdeen, Dundee or Edinburgh office if that is more convenient and they will forward it for you.

In England and Wales, if you don't know where to send it, or do not know the postcode for the place where you worked, call our public enquiry line on 0845 795 9775 .

It is your responsibility to ensure that the tribunal office receives your claim within the relevant time limit.

What happens next?

If you have not given all the necessary information or, if it applies to your claim, you have not raised your complaint with the respondent and waited 28 days, your claim will not be accepted. We will return your form to you in the post with a letter telling you the reason why your claim has not been accepted and what action you should take.

If your claim is accepted, the tribunal office will send you a letter to confirm this together with a booklet which will tell you what the next steps are. At the same time we will send the respondent a copy of your claim form together with a form for their response. If no response is received within 28 days, a tribunal may consider issuing a default judgment.

Having received and accepted the claim, we will give it a case number. You should quote your case number if you contact the tribunal office by phone or in writing .

In most cases, we also send a copy of your claim to Acas. This is the independent conciliation service. They will try to help you and the respondent reach an agreed settlement if that is what you want to do.

Contact the Tribunal

You should quote your case number if you contact the tribunal office by phone or in writing . In correspondence we refer to the person making a claim as the ' claimant ' and to the person the complaint is about as the ' respondent '.

You must let the tribunal office know immediately if your contact details change.

If you have a representative (a person you ask to act on your behalf), all correspondence about the case will be to them. And you must pass any further requests for information through the representatives and not straight to us.

Can I correspond by e-mail?

Yes . You should make sure you quote the case number in any correspondence and in the title bar of the e-mail and send it to the tribunal office dealing with the claim.

Documents you send to the tribunal must be in a 'Word' compatible format. We will not accept documents in other formats. When we receive your e-mail, we will send you an electronic acknowledgement. Do not send further e-mails or phone the tribunal office unless you have not received an acknowledgement within two working days of sending your e-mail.

You are responsible for making sure that the tribunal receives any correspondence sent by e-mail within the relevant time limit.

If you want us to communicate with you by e-mail whenever possible, you will need to supply a valid e-mail address. When you ask us to communicate with you by e-mail you are agreeing that you check for incoming e-mail at least once every day and that we may pass your e-mail address to other people involved in the claim.

If we send any documents by e-mail we will use enclosures using the software 'Word XP' currently used by our offices. We will send copies of non-electronic documents and documents which need a chairman's signature, for example a judgment, by post.

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