Employment tribunals are never far from the news, as staff and their bosses consistently feel like the other side has too many rights or too few responsibilities.

If an employee feels like they have been mistreated, they can apply for a tribunal to look at the facts and see who was in the wrong. They will do so by considering the terms of the employment contract and the company’s official procedures.

There is not usually any cost attached to making the actual claim to an employment tribunal, but it is common for people to hire a London solicitor or another form of legal representation, since they can advise regarding the best way of presenting the case. The most common disputes relate to unfair dismissal, redundancy payments and discrimination.

Running order

In the vast majority of claims, the case must be brought to the attention of an employment tribunal within three months of the incident or the end of the individual’s employment term.

During the tribunal, the claimant and the respondent will sit in front of a panel of three people; one of which will be a specialist employment judge and the other two will be ‘lay’ members, who bring workplace experience to the table.

Both sides will have a chance to develop their arguments and question the other party’s statements, as the legal team ascertain which has the stronger case. After a decision is taken, it is possible to take the matter to the Employment Appeal Tribunal, which acts if the law has been misapplied or used incorrectly.

In recent years, the legal world has been pushing mediation as a form of dispute resolution and employment matters can be an appropriate time to try this, although sometimes a tribunal cannot be avoided.

History

Dating back to the Industrial Training Act 1964, industrial tribunals – as they were known then – allowed workers to sit in front of a panel featuring a lawyer, union representative and an employer association member. In 1998, the procedures were renamed employment tribunals.

There have been calls for amendments to be made to tribunal legislation, particularly in relation to unfair dismissal claims, to stop so many cases being heard, but so far such proposals have been kept at bay, ensuring that employees maintain their current level of protection.

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