about filing claims

Stage 1 – Assessing Your Claim

In order to be successful in your claim to the employment tribunal, your complaint needs to come under one of the following grievances:

If you need clarification on any of the above, call our customer care phone line on 0800 80 30 824 for assistance on assessing the validity of your claim. Tribunal Action is here to help you from the initial assessment stage, right through to the official submission of your claim to make the process as easy and as stress free as possible.

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Stage 2 – Notifying the Respondent

If your claim relates to unfair dismissal, you do not have to adhere to this part of the process. Simply move to Stage 3 – Making Your Claim.

If your claim relates to any of the other grievances listed above, you have to officially notify the Respondent of your complaint in writing, which is where Tribunal Action step in. Dependant on the package you select, we will either provide you with notification template letters and step-by-step guides of how to word and write your letter with detailed examples of previous cases, or you can simply answer a short online questionnaire which will automatically create your letter for you.

Just 28 days after your notification letter is sent to the Respondent, your official claim can then be registered with the Employment Tribunal Service. During this period we will ensure that your application is fulfilled and ready to be registered, and, depending on your package, we will legitimise your claim with an independent employment law consultant. Tribunal Action will ensure that we take the stress out of deadlines and form filling, giving you peace of mind that we are taking care of your claim for you.

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Stage 3 – Making Your Claim

Your claim must be submitted on an officially approved form that must contain information such as yours and the Respondent’s name and address, claim details and whether you were an employee of the Respondent. Tribunal Action assists you throughout the entire process, providing all the information you will need to submit your claim, along with telephone operators to assist you every step of the way. No other online provider can provide this level of service to their customers.

There are strict time limits for the submission of your form. In most cases, the Tribunal should receive your claim within three months of your employment having ended, or three months after the event occurred for which you want to address. If you are not able to meet this three-month time limit, your claim may still be accepted in limited circumstances (such as on health grounds).

To file a claim regarding unfair dismissal, you must have worked for the employer for at least one year (although this time limit may be relaxed in certain cases). Don’t waste time delaying your claim; apply today to ensure a valid submission within the government set timescales.

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Stage 4 – Submission of Claim

You can download or complete your claim form online, which we will then either email or post out to you first class. You will then need to check and sign the claim form, and post to the Tribunal Service using the pre-paid envelope enclosed with your forms. You don’t even need to worry about locating your nearest Employment Tribunal Office, our friendly and supportive team here at Tribunal Action will locate the nearest Tribunal Office to the place that you worked and send address labels to you with your forms.

The claim will not be accepted if (i) you have not used an approved form, (ii) given incomplete information, or (iii) violated the time limit for submission, this is why you should sign up to Tribunal Action today, let us ensure that your claim is submitted correctly, and in time for your rights to be acknowledged.

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Stage 5 – Acceptance of Claim

If your claim is accepted, you will receive an acceptance letter from the Tribunal Office and a case number. A copy of your claim will then be sent to the Respondent. If no response is received from the Respondent within 28 days, the Tribunal may issue a default judgment.

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Stage 6 – The Hearing

Once the Respondent has acknowledged your claim, within 28 days a date of hearing will be given to you. Some issues may need to be addressed before the hearing can begin; these could involve things, such as you and the Respondent needing more information or documentation from each other, or decisions regarding witnesses etc.

The Tribunal may hold a “case-management” discussion to clarify these matters. If you or the Respondent fails to appear for the hearing, the Tribunal may decide the case in your or the Respondent’s absence.

You may withdraw your claim at any time before or during the hearing. You may also prefer conciliation instead of seeing the case through. At your request, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) will assign a fixed period within which you have to reach an agreement with the Respondent.