4.2 Bringing a claim in an employment tribunal (part 2)

STEP 4 – ACAS EARLY CONCILITATION CERTIFICATE

Before a claim is lodged in the Employment Tribunal, you must have participated in the ACAS Early Conciliation Process and be provided with a Certificate together with unique reference code. This is needed when lodging your claim at the Tribunal.

Once you receive this Certificate from ACAS, you will have at least 1 calendar month to lodge your claim at the Tribunal from the date of the Certificate. Therefore it is vital that you diarise the limitation date to ensure that your claim is not lodged out of time.

STEP 5 – ET1 CLAIM FORM

In order to lodge a claim at the Employment Tribunal, you will be required to complete a specific Claim Form known as an ET1.

You are able to complete the form online, or alternatively you can print the document off and attend the Tribunal in person to lodge the claim, or post it to the Tribunal. It is recommended that a claim is best lodged on online at https://employmenttribunals.service.gov.uk/apply

The ET1 is a very important form, as this will be the first document the Tribunal refer to when dealing with your claim. Therefore you need to be clear on exactly what claim (or claims) you are bringing and what your complaint is about.

The form begins with administrative particulars such as your details, and confirmation of the Company/ Organisation you are seeking to make a claim against. For discrimination claims, you can also seek to bring a claim against those individual persons who conducted the act of discrimination, as well as the Company/ Organisation.

Details of your employment dates and earnings are also required.

Within the ET1 Form there is space for you to write a statement of what your claim is about. Within this statement you should:-

• State what claim (or claims) you are bringing and why;
• You should mention every key event you are complaining about, and why;
• Ensure all important points are covered, as it will be difficult to include them at a later date;
• Provide a clear account of what happened, preferably in chronological order with details of dates, times, locations, names of persons involved, and keep your statement to the point as much as possible;
• It is best to format this statement into numbered paragraph for easy reference later in the case.

It is recommended that for the statement, a draft in completed first rather than seeking to complete the form online in one go. This will allow you the opportunity to review the matter, and make and changes after you have time to read the statement again. This statement could then be attached as a PDF to the ET1 when submitting your claim, rather than seek to retype your statement in the ET1 Form.

The ET1 Claim Form will also ask what remedy you are seeking. Compensation is the usual remedy sought in matters, but you can also apply to be re-instated into your job, or another job (if you had been dismissed).  Therefore it is advisable to be clear what you are seeking as a remedy.

Once your claim has been lodged, you may be asked to provide further details of the remedy you are seeking, especially if it is compensation by completing a Schedule of Loss.

Again it is essential that the ET1 Claim Form is submitted to the Tribunal before the limitation date expires. It is the Claimant’s responsibility to ensure that this is done.

STEP 6 – FEE

Under the new regime, when you lodge a claim at the employment Tribunal, you will be required to pay a fee. The fee is dependent on the claim you are seeking to pursue.

For the most common claims that of Unfair Dismissal Claims, or discrimination, you will be required to pay a fee of £250.00. Unpaid wages, or redundancy payment claim have a lodging fee of £160. A full list of fees are available from the Tribunal, and if you complete the ET1 Form online, the fee will be calculated for you automatically.

If the fee is not paid, the Tribunal will not accept your claim.

For those individuals who cannot afford the Tribunal Fees, you can seek to make an application for financial assistance to pay the fees. This is dependent upon your earnings and savings. Further details are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apply-for-help-with-court-and-tribunal-fees

STEP 7 – RECEIPT OF CLAIM

If you submit your claim online at the Employment Tribunal’s’ website, you should ensure that you receive an email receipt of confirmation that your claim has been submitted.

This email confirmation should be kept in a safe place to show that the claim was lodged, and in the event that the other side seek to argue the claim was lodged pout of time, this email will confirm date and time the ET1 Claim was submitted.

Should you not receive email confirmation straight away, then you should contact the Employment Tribunal immediately.