So, you’ve been through ACAS Early Conciliation, but what happens next? How do you issue an Employment Tribunal claim? What needs to be in the claim form? Read on for more information.
How Do I Issue An Employment Tribunal Claim?
Once you have completed ACAS Early Conciliation and have received your certificate, you then need to issue your claim at the Employment Tribunal. Your claim must be made using the prescribed claim form, an ET1. You can complete and submit the ET1 online, or a paper version of the claim form can be downloaded, completed and posted to the relevant central office. You do not have to pay a fee on making a claim to the Employment Tribunal.
You do not need a solicitor to issue a claim in the Employment Tribunal, it is something you can do yourself. It is, however, advisable to seek legal advice prior to issuing your claim. Here at Lincs Law Employment Solicitors, we would be happy to discuss your Employment Tribunal claim. For a free consultation, just call us on 01522 440512.
What Do I Put In An Employment Tribunal Claim?
If you want to issue a claim in the Employment Tribunal yourself, the following will give you an overview of what information is required to complete a Form ET1, which is the Employment Tribunal Claim Form.
You should always complete the Form ET1 to the fullest extent possible. Some of the sections in the Form ET1 are marked with an asterisk which marks the sections that must be completed. If you do not complete one of these sections, your Form ET1 will be rejected. These sections include:
- Your full name and address in section one;
- Your employer’s name and address in section two;
- Your ACAS Early Conciliation certificate number; and
- An indication of the type of claim you are making in section eight.
It is likely that the Form ET1 will be the first document the Employment Tribunal read, it is therefore important it gives a good overall view of your claims
A brief overview of what needs to be in each of the sections is as follows.
Section 1
Section 1 is all about you. Complete it with as many details as you can, giving your preferred personal contact details. From now on, you will be referred to as the Claimant.
Section 2
This section relates to your employer who is known as the Respondent. It is very important you correctly identify your employer and that it matches who you have been through ACAS Early Conciliation with. If the employer’s name on the claim form does not match the Early Conciliation certificate, your claim is likely to be rejected.
Ensure that you have correctly identified your employer, sometimes there are associated companies, so it is important to ensure you know who your employer is. You would find this information in your contract (provided you have not been transferred from another employer) or on your payslips.
In certain cases, for example discrimination, it may be that you are issuing against more than one Respondent. You may wish to issue proceedings against your employer and the person who had done the discriminatory act. If you are issuing against someone other than your employer, you should also insert their details in section 2.
Box 2.3 is crucial. You need to confirm you have been through ACAS Early Conciliation and enter your certificate number in the box below.
Section 3
If you are aware that any of your colleagues have issued claims against your employer for the same, or similar, reasons, you should put your colleagues’ names in the box. The Tribunal may consider the cases together.
Section 4
It is possible, in limited circumstances, to issue an Employment Tribunal claim against someone who is not your employer. For example, if you believe you have been discriminated against during a job application process, it may be possible for you to bring a claim against the hiring company. If it is the case you are not issuing a claim against your employer, you should indicate the type of claim you are bringing in the box. If you complete this section, you can move straight to section 8, as section 5 to 7 are details of your employment.
Section 5 and 6
To be in a position to fully complete sections 5 and 6, you need to know:
- your employment start date;
- your employment end date;
- your job title;
- on average, how many hours a week you worked;
- your pay before tax (either weekly or monthly);
- your normal take-home pay (either weekly or monthly);
- how long your notice period was;
- if you worked all or part of your notice period;
- if you were in your employer’s pension scheme;
- any other benefits you received from your employer.
If you do not have all of the above information, do not panic. You are still able to submit your claim if you have left a couple of the boxes empty. However, you should always try and complete the ET1 in full.
Section 7
In Employment Tribunal proceedings, you must attempt to mitigate your losses. This means, for example, if you have been dismissed, you must be actively applying for new jobs and keep a record of those job applications. You should identify in section 7 whether you have got a new job. If you have, you should complete the start date for your new job and how much you are earning. If you have not got a new job, tick the relevant box and move on to section 8.
Section 8
Section 8 is where you identify the claim or claims you are bringing against the Respondents. You must complete this section. At 8.1, there are tick boxes with types of claim that you may be bringing. You should tick any claims which you intend to bring and are relevant to your circumstances. If the claim you are looking to bring is not listed, or you want to bring an additional claim that is not listed, you should identify the type of claim you are looking to bring in the text box in 8.1.
Section 8.2 is very important as you are setting out the background and details of your claim. Ideally, you want to set these details out in a series of short numbered paragraphs. Information that should appear in this section includes:
- a summary of the material facts;
- the action that has given rise to the claim (for example, the failure to make payment in respect of your notice period or the act of discrimination);
- when the action occurred;
- specifically who committed the action;
- the law relevant to your claim (for example, the reason your employer dismissed you was not fair in accordance with section 98 Employment Rights Act 1996).
This is not your opportunity to put forward your opinion or for you to speculate as to what may have motivated your employer to do what they did. You will have the opportunity later in proceedings to submit a witness statement, where you will be able to go in to far more detail about events and how you were feeling at the time. Keep this section purely based on facts, what happened, when and by whom?
Section 9
In this Section you can let the Employment Tribunal know what remedy you are seeking if your claim is successful.
Section 10
This section only applies if you believe your claim is one of whistleblowing, or at least involves whistleblowing. If you are unsure whether your claim is whistleblowing, for further information, please visit our website at: https://lincslaw.co.uk/services/employees/workplace-problems/protected-disclosures-whistleblowing/. If this applies to you claim, you can tick the box if you want the Employment Tribunal to forward a copy of your claim on to the relevant regulator.
Section 11
If you have instructed a representative (either a solicitor or a trade union representative) to act on your behalf, their details should be included at section 11. By giving their details, you are authorising the Employment Tribunal to contact your representative about your claim, so all correspondence will be sent to your representative, not directly to you. If you have consulted an adviser about your claim, but you are not instructing them to represent you, do not include their details.
Section 12
This section is not related with the substance of your claim. You do not have to be bringing a disability discrimination claim to confirm you have a disability. This section is for use by the Employment Tribunal to ensure they can provide any assistance you might require, such as using larger sized font for your correspondence.
Section 13
This section is a continuation of section 2 and is only relevant if you are issuing a claim against more than three respondents.
Section 14
FINAL CHECK!
Section 15
Here you can provide any additional information you think is relevant to raise at this stage. For example, if you have already submitted a claim and you want your new claim to be consolidated with your existing matter.
Lincs Law Employment Solicitors Can Help
If you would like assistance with your employment dispute and are considering bringing a claim against your employer, please do not hesitate to contact us on 01522 440512 for an initial free, no obligation, telephone consultation. Alternatively, if you would like more information about how we can help with your employment dispute, please visit our website at https://lincslaw.co.uk/services/employees/employment-tribunal-claims/
Sally Hubbard
Managing Director, Specialist Employment Solicitor
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