Partner Sue Dowling, in our Employment Law team, explains the things to consider if you are thinking of bringing an Employment Law claim against your employer.
You may have read newspaper headlines of big decisions made in local employment tribunals, or know that there are no longer employment tribunal fees in place – but where should you start if you think you may have an employment tribunal claim against your employer?
Below we list a few important considerations that should be at the forefront of your mind:
- How long have you been employed? Those with less than 2 years’ continuous service with the same employer are not eligible to bring an unfair dismissal claim, but protection from discrimination and many other claims start from ‘day 1’.
- Are you an employee, worker or self-employed? Different rights will depending on your ‘status’.
- Are you still employed or has your employment been terminated? This may affect the approach you wish to take and whether you may want to explore (or have already explored) internal avenues before embarking upon an employment tribunal process.
- Be aware of the Acas early conciliation process – it is compulsory to go through this before an employment tribunal will accept a claim and Acas will see if the dispute can be settled.
- Do you have a strong claim? This is of course a difficult question but one that it is worth addressing your minds to – visit our Employment Law pages on our website for some initial preliminary advice depending on your specific issues.
- What is the value of your claim? It is equally important to consider this in order to weigh up your options and know if any potential settlement is a ‘good deal’.
- You can visit the Gov.UK website for relevant forms and guidance on the process. It is likely to take at least 6 months for a hearing to be listed, once a tribunal has accepted a claim.
- Employment tribunal hearings are generally public and all decisions are now reported online. Claims can settle at any point and even during the hearing.
Our expert team of specialist Employment Law solicitors can of course advise you further on all of these points and give you specific advice in relation to your individual employment situation and the strength of any potential claim(s).
For further information or legal advice, please contact law@blandy.co.uk or call 0118 951 6800.
This article is intended for the use of clients and other interested parties. The information contained in it is believed to be correct at the date of publication, but it is necessarily of a brief and general nature and should not be relied upon as a substitute for specific professional advice.
