How to run your Case in the Employment Tribunal
First things first, you need to have completed your early conciliation requirement before you submit your Case. This is true for most types of cases, and it is rare that you can circumvent this stage of the process.
Once you have completed the EC stage, you can begin to think about how to manage your Case ready for the Employment Tribunal submission. Your main aim is to prepare for the tribunal hearing, to ensure your evidence is up to scratch, and presented in the right way.
Complying with the time limits requirement
There is a time limit within which you must make your claim to the tribunal.
When you know the date on which you receive your early conciliation certificate, you can determine the exact date on which your claim needs to be submitted. As soon as you receive the early conciliation certificate you should begin planning your claim.
Your claim type may need to be submitted to the tribunal immediately, so you should work on the assumption that your claim form will need to be drafted and completed for submission to the tribunal.
Your claim must contain full and accurate details and argue all grounds in law that are needed. Anything not structured properly in your claim form, will risk being struck out or not included if it is argued later.
Information which must be included
Your early conciliation must contain the mandatory information and it must match the information on your submission to the Employment Tribunal.
If it does not, your claim risks being rejected by the Employment Tribunal and you risk your claim failing at the first hurdle without being given the chance to get to even the Preliminary Hearing stage.
The effect of claim drafting errors and how to avoid them
The effect of an omission or irregularity on the claim can be serious, and the drafted claim must make clear the issues of fact and law which are being alleged.
The claim must be reasonably set out, and it is usually better to have the attached particulars so that adequate information can be provided.
The claim form which does not contain all the required information, allows the tribunal to reject the claim, or may allow the Respondent to take action striking out the part of the claim which they allege does not contain the minimum information required to be responded to.
If your claim is rejected by the Employment Tribunal
If your claim is rejected by the Employment Tribunal you may need to make an application to the Employment Tribunal.
Some of the main ways that a claim can be rejected by the Employment Tribunal are for not having the correct information set out, and not meeting the minimum requirements for the submission.
For example, a claim can be rejected because the Claimant failed to provide enough details for the Respondent, or can be rejected because the Claimant failed to use the correct form.
The claim can also be rejected because the Employment Judge considers that the claim form could not sensibly be responded to because of how the information is set out, or because the claim has not been adequately argued.
If you would like us to review your claim information and set the drafting for you to ensure your claim is not rejected, then please use the contact us page and we should be happy to speak to you about how we can help. We offer a number of funding arrangements including no win no fee or fixed fee options to suit your circumstances.
Submitting your claim form to the Employment Tribunal
Once your claim form has been submitted to the tribunal, the tribunal will review the submission and check whether it has been properly instituted and contains the minimum mandatory information and that it matches the EC requirement also.
Help if your Claim is rejected
Depending on the reason for rejection of your claim, we can help rectify any drafting mistakes and ensure the Tribunal can receive your claim.
A mistake on the claim grounds can mean the Employment Tribunal does not have jurisdiction to hear your claim.
A poorly drafted claim can also be seen as an abuse of process which can have further serious consequences. A well drafted claim with attached particulars of claim document information will mean the difference between overcoming this first hurdle or having your claim rejected.
The name of the Respondent on the claim form is also essential to get right.
If the information was wrong and did not match because a Claimant has made a typo when completing the minimum information, this may be something which can be corrected on further application.
However, this process must be handled carefully, to ensure the Respondent does not take advantage of this lapse.
Your claim form must contain the substance of the claim
The substance of the claim must be set out in the claim form and any attachments.
It is essential that all required elements of the case being put are included and clearly expressed, as there is no free liberty for a claimant to later change the way the case is put at a later stage, or to refer at a later stage to supplemental documentation beyond the claim form as a source from which to discern the ambit of the case the claimant has brought.
As the Claimant, you are required to properly draft your claim grounds, and it must be more than something just to set the ball rolling, as an initial document necessary to comply with time limits.
If you do not set your claim fully, you will not be free to subsequently add or subtract from the claim original text if you have not set out the essential case grounds in law and the facts which support those grounds.
If you would like us to review your claim information and set the drafting for you to ensure your claim is not rejected, then please use the contact us page and we should be happy to speak to you about how we can help. We offer a number of funding arrangements including no win no fee or fixed fee options to suit your circumstances.