Employment Tribunals

If your business is facing the prospect of an employment tribunal, you need to understand the steps you need to take to defend your company’s reputation.

Who can launch an employment tribunal action?

Disgruntled current or former employees can bring a case against you, as can a job applicant or a trade union.

What are the reasons for a tribunal action?

There are a number of reasons why an individual may take your business to an Employment Tribunal. These include allegations relating to:

• Breach of contract
• Discrimination on matters of gender, race , sexual orientation, age, religious belief, disability, or political opinion
• Equal pay issues
• Redundancy and TUPE issues
• Unauthorised deductions from wages
• Unfair dismissal
• Unfair working hours

Acas Conciliation Service

Often, the first an employer knows about a possible Employment Tribunal action is via letter from the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas).

The majority of employment disputes are first referred to Acas with a view to resolving the issue through their Early Conciliation Process, in order to avoid the matter escalating to a full Employment Tribunal hearing.

Acas will encourage both parties to be open and honest about the issues involved and as conciliation is a confidential process, nothing that is said can be revealed if the matter should later go to Tribunal.

If you have been contacted by Acas regarding conciliation, it is important to seek expert legal advice promptly.

At Mander Hadley, our team of helpful and knowledgeable employment law experts can help guide you through the conciliation process.

Employment Tribunal hearing

In some situations, despite conciliation attempts, the dispute can remain unresolved. The matter may then be referred to an Employment Tribunal.

If you haven’t already spoken to a legal expert, you should definitely seek immediate help.

An expert employment lawyer will help to ensure that your case is put together correctly and will gather together all the necessary supporting evidence so that a robust defence is presented on your behalf at the Tribunal.

If your business is facing the threat of an Employment Tribunal, contact us now. We understand how daunting the prospect of legal action can be, but rest assured we will support you and your business throughout the entire process.

You are in safe hands at Mander Hadley.

For more information please consult our Employment Tribunals Experts:

Amanda Hyam