Employment Tribunal Claims
Employment Tribunals are the judicial body with responsibility for workplace justice. They are the main forum for deciding disputes between workers and employers. When workplace disputes are not resolved through negotiation or internal processes, employees may turn to ET to seek a resolution. The employer is obliged to defend itself against the allegations raised by the employee. The process can be stressful and costly.
What are the common types of employment tribunal claims?
The main type of claim seen at the employment tribunal is unfair dismissal. This is where an employee believes their employer breached their statutory obligations when dismissing them.
Another prevalent case is breach of contract. This is where an employee believes their employer has acted in breach of contract. The most common type of breach of contract witnessed by the employment tribunal is wrongful dismissal – alleged that an employer has failed to pay appropriate notice pay.
Other cases include wage disputes (generally unpaid wages and/or holiday) and discrimination. Claims are based on characteristics and disappointingly this is relatively common at the employment tribunal. These cases also tend to produce the highest awards against employers.
What is the employment tribunal claim process?
It’s important to know that before an employee can file a claim, they are required to engage in early conciliation which aims to settle a dispute without the need to file a claim with the employment tribunal. If early conciliation fails, only then can an employee submit a claim.
The employer will receive a copy of the claim from the employment tribunal and must respond directly to the employment tribunal to address the allegations. The employment tribunal will provide a timeframe for the response to be delivered. This is usually 28 days from receipt of the copy of the claim.
A preliminary hearing may be scheduled to clarify any issues, decide on jurisdiction and issue ordered relating to the management of the case. If no settlement is reached then a full tribunal hearing will take place, attended by a tribunal panel – allowing both parties to present their case. The panel will then make a decision based on the evidence presented and relevant laws. If the employer is found liable, it’s likely that remedies will be ordered.
How can we help?
It’s important to be proactive as an employer to prevent future disputes. This can range from using properly drafting employment contracts, to providing training that promotes good practice within your organisation from a discrimination perspective, creating a fair dismissal process, to using legally compliant settlement agreements. Luckily, we’ve got experience with all of that!
Need a UK Employment Lawyer to help avoid a future claim? Don't worry if it's too late - we can help you navigate the employment tribunal process. Get in touch with the team.
How to get started
Don't take our word for it
Real world legal advice from real people. No stuffy posh nonsense or complicated legal speak for the sake of it, just great value legal advice. Making the switch to Plume was easy and has saved us a lot of money compared to our previous subscription legal service.
Rachael is a diamond and very intelligent. She has a lovely style and an efficient, commercial & more collaborative approach to advising clients. It's also reassuring to know that Rachael is a former litigator so you know you are getting all-round excellent commercially sound advice. Highly recommended!
Having negotiated against Alice personally, we were confident of her legal skills and commercial acumen. They immediately submersed themselves into our business, acting as an extension of our legal team. They worked incredibly hard, are friendly, approachable and above all could always be counted on to retain a sense of humour.”
Rachael is commercially focussed, and her investment in taking the time to get to know our business means she takes a pragmatic, human-centric approach to negotiations. She proactively gets her head around the particular priorities and constraints on each engagement, meaning she hits the ground running adding value while being able to move at pace.
“Plume is anything but your traditional law firm. We found the lawyers to not only be experts in their fields, but dedicated to understanding our business, which is so important to finding innovative solutions to the problems that we bring to them. Every single person I’ve met at Plume has been a delight to work with, and that just makes all the difference. I really do feel in very good hands working with Plume.”
Our favourite thing about working with Plume is it doesn’t feel like we’re working with a law firm but rather an extension of our own team. The lawyers have become so embedded in our business, so commercially focussed and so tuned to our risk appetite and way of working
The best thing about working with the Employment team is the prompt guidance and support they have given with sensitive and complex issues. They offer professional and diligent advice as well as being incredibly genuine and encouraging. It is reassuring to know they are on hand to help at all times.
Everyone internally has been incredibly impressed with your work and I'm sure we will want to continue working together long-term.
Plume is quite clearly the best law firm in the history of the universe. With trademark protections bestowed upon us by your godly lawyers, we'll be able to focus on what we do best.... developing awesome medical technology for the blind community.
Quickly understood my requirements, carried out a thorough review of the facts and produced a user-friendly reference document tailored to my business which demonstrated a strong grasp of the commercials. Take on was pain-free and everyone was friendly and responsive. Would recommend.
Excellent firm. Professional and ideal for start-ups.
The team have supported us with day-to-day and strategic legal advice throughout the year. We're grateful to them for stepping up to support us through this important milestone in MyTutor’s development and for their commitment in getting the deal over the line.
We currently use Plume for our small business and have had a great experience! They are knowledgeable, professional and answer in a timely fashion. Would recommend!
Great working with the folks at Plume. The quality of their work was top notch, their communication was effective and overall happy with the services provided.
You are without a doubt the COOLEST law firm ever, and we love working with you! <3
They're doing amazing stuff on social media and standing out from the crowd. This is a gold standard in disruption.
You are continuing to shape the legal industry to be more creative, compassionate, and (most significantly) human. Keep breaking down barriers - your reach is further than you may realize 🦩
The team have come on board to support MyTutor, a fast growing EdTech business which previously had no in-house legal resource. The team have made a hugely positive difference in a short space of time and we feel incredibly supported by the team, who offer a commercial, low fuss and highly responsive service
Plume are a wonderful, professional and caring law firm. The communication and attention to detail we received by them in dealing with our case was brilliant. I will definitely be using them again for future needs.
The team provided excellent leadership and support throughout our funding process. In particular, they provided comprehensive ownership and management of the close process for AccelerComm, providing excellent, professional guidance from start to finish and enabling AccelerComm to focus on growing core business growth
