So, a disgruntled employee has issued a claim against you in the Employment Tribunal. What should you do now?
Firstly, don’t panic. Since Employment Tribunal fees were abolished and it became free of charge for employees to take their employers to the Employment Tribunal, claims have, unsurprisingly, increased. They are affecting more and more employers, including those who haven’t necessarily done anything wrong!
Check the Date You Have to File Your Response (Defence)
This will be on the letter accompanying the employee’s claim, and is usually 28 days from the date the claim was sent to you.
Write that date in red in your diary. Employment Tribunals are extremely strict about compliance with this deadline. If, for any reason, you think you will not be able to submit your response by that date, make sure you write to the Tribunal as soon as possible and ask for an extension of time, explaining why it is needed.
Make a Note of Any Hearing Dates Set by the Tribunal
These will also be set out in the correspondence from the Tribunal accompanying the claim and if you can’t make the date, write to them as soon as possible to ask for a new one, giving your reasons.
Check Whether the Employee is Entitled to Bring the Claim
This will depend on a number of factors such as whether the employee has the right length of service to bring the claim and whether they have complied with Acas early conciliation requirements. If they haven’t, you could write to the Tribunal and ask for the claim to be struck out (i.e. cancelled) and that will be the end of it.
Check Whether the Claim is in Time
Most claims have to be brought within three months less a day of a relevant happening, such as the date the employment terminated or when an act of discrimination took place.
Acas early conciliation can extend the time limit for up to a month and calculating the deadline for issuing a claim can become quite complicated!
Take Advice
We are experienced in dealing with Tribunal claims, and we know how stressful and frustrating they can be for a business.
We can help with all aspects of Employment Tribunal claims at any stage, from advising on:
- The potential compensation the employee might be entitled to
- Whether there are any reasons why the claim is not valid (such as the employee having insufficient service, or it being presented out of time, as mentioned above)
- Preparing the response on your behalf
- Advising on any of the directions set by the Tribunal to prepare the case for a hearing; and
- Arranging representation for you for the hearing itself.
If you have received a claim against you in the Employment Tribunal, please contact our Employment Team on 0345 646 0406 or fill in our online enquiry form and a member of our Team will be in touch.