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If an employee or ex-employee feels they have grounds to make a claim against your Company they may take steps to file for Employment Tribunal.

An Employment Tribunal is a legal process during which both parties present their case and have the chance to cross-examine the other party and/or any witnesses. The Tribunal may make a financial award to the employee or ex-employee making the claim if they feel their case is founded.

Employment Tribunals are costly and time consuming employers are advised to do everything in their power to avoid Tribunals starting with issuing to every employee, in writing, clear terms of employment!

Should you face an Employment Tribunal you will be advised of the fact by the receipt of a form known as an ET1. The ET1 form outlines who is making the claim against you and the basis for that claim.

You should deal with this form immediately upon receipt. Enclosed with the ET1 you will find a form ET3 for you to complete which is your response to the claim. You have just 28 days from the date on the ET1 to respond.

The information provided MUST be accurate as this will be used as your defence in the Tribunal. Do not be tempted to complete the form based on what you should have done or what you meant to do. If the information provided is found to be inaccurate your case will be completely undermined.

It must be noted that should you fail to submit the ET3 within the 28 days allowed and no extension of time is agreed; the Tribunal will proceed without your input. In short, you will no longer have the right to take an active part in the Tribunal and you will not be allowed to defend the claim. As you can imagine, with your hands tied, the chances of an award against yor Company are greatly increased.

Once the ET3 has been submitted you will receive a letter advising you that an ACAS conciliator has been assigned to your case. ACAS conciliators have a legal duty to try to help both parties in Tribunal cases settle their differences without the need for a hearing. The conciliator will contact you to discuss the case.

If the case cannot be settled the hearing will proceed. The timings for hearings can vary depending on how busy the Employment Tribunal in your area is.

Both parties will exchange relevant information prior to the hearing in order that a defence can be compiled.

Employment Tribunals can be extremely costly, not just in terms of a financial award, but also in time taken to investigate the case and to compile an effective defence. Companies often need to resort to expensive legal representation to guide them through the difficult and stressful legal proceedings.