The Employment Tribunal Claims in UK
By: Roger | Posted: 30th January 2008
The Employment Tribunal is a body that deals with hearing claims related to matters of employment in the UK. Some cases that the Employment Tribunal deals with include unfair dismissals, redundancy payments, wages and other payments. Though the Employment Tribunal is similar to a court, it does not follow the formal format of the court. Lawyers and judges do not have to wear wigs or gowns like in a traditional court. The organisation works independently and cannot give legal advice, just like a court.
Every year in the UK, more than 100,000 applications are made to Employment Tribunal services. The average time taken from filing a claim to getting the final judgement can stretch up to 30 weeks. Employment laws in the UK have constantly evolved over the years, widening in their scope. Today the law encompasses a number of scenarios. For example, unfair disposal also covers pregnancy, parental and family leave.
The Employment Tribunal was initially set up to resolve disputes between employees and employers. The most common disputes that these courts hear are cases pertaining to dismissal and discrimination. An Employment Tribunal case may have more than one hearing. Though not common, there may be one or two hearings before the main hearing is held. The case’s management discussions are held by the chairman alone. The chairman is an experienced employment lawyer. The purpose of these discussions is to determine the key issues of the case and to suggest certain procedural aspects of the case. At this stage, no evidence is given and the entire process may be conducted over a telephone conference call. Based on this discussion, the chairman will determine what information needs to be shared and the dates along with the length of consequent hearings.
If a pre-hearing review is conducted before the main hearing, both parties concerned will explain their basis of the case. The reviews may also be held to decide upon legal points in the case. If the tribunal takes a decision against a claimant at any point of the case, then that part of the case is considered to have ended there.
The main hearing of the tribunal differs from the initial hearings by the fact that an entire tribunal bench including the chairman decides the outcome of the case. It is during the main hearing that both parties can give evidence under oath. Like in a normal court, witnesses may be questioned by both parties and the chairman. After both sides sum up their case, the final decision is taken in private. The tribunal will then share their verdict with both parties along with the reasoning behind the verdict. The most common outcome for such a tribunal hearing is that the claimant is awarded a financial compensation.
For more information about employment tribunal, please visit: http://www.free-employer-advice.co.uk.
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