Some employers are great, others less so. And then there are those positions in which you are treated with disrespect, possibly bullied, taken advantage of and even dismissed unfairly. If you feel that you have been dismissed without reasonable grounds, had your salary tampered with in the form of deductions you didn’t authorise, were the victim of discrimination in your workplace or have experienced negative effects through mistreatment of any kind, then these episodes may be unlawful and you could be entitled to make a claim to an employment tribunal.
Tribunals and timings
An employment tribunal is an independent and impartial body. Its role is to listen to you, known officially as the claimant, and also the organisation, business owner or manager against whom you’re making a claim. The other side is known as the respondent.
If you live in Northern Ireland, then the procedure is a little different.
In all situations, you will need to be organised because, in most cases, there is a window of three months in which to make your claim. If you were fired without proper reason, then the three months begin from the day your job came to an end. If your claim is regarding a salary dispute or an incident of discrimination, then the three month window starts from the date on which the incident occurred.
What you need to do
If you feel you need to make a claim, then your first action is to get in touch with the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, ACAS. The window for making a claim is temporarily suspended while ACAS looks into your case. If you are making a claim regarding unfair dismissal, it is possible that you can apply to keep working in your present role until the dispute is assessed. This is known as interim relief.
Interim relief can only be granted in a few situations, which usually involve being fired for circumstances such as whistleblowing, being part of the activities of a trade union, or otherwise being involved in being an activist for workers’ rights and entitlements. If you want to claim interim relief, you must act quickly as you have a week, or seven days, to do so after you’ve been dismissed. You don’t need to contact ACAS in order to claim this.
As your dispute proceeds, you may need an employment tribunal costs warning letter to indicate to the respondent what kind of settlement they could be facing if they lose. If you need an employment tribunal costs warning letter, there are firms with experience in this area.
If you are considering taking a case to an employment tribunal, you must be prepared. Gather as much evidence as you can to support your claim.
