Before making an Employment Tribunal claim

Most of the information below consists of links to specific pages on the following websites:

Before you take a claim to the Employment Tribunal, there are several things to consider.

Time limits

Employment Tribunals apply very strict time limits and if you do not comply with them your claim will be rejected unless there are very exceptional circumstances. If you think exceptional circumstances may apply, you should take legal advice as soon as possible.

Action must be taken in respect of most claims within three months less a day of the end of your employment, or of the date of the incident you are claiming about.

Exceptions are redundancy pay (but not claims for unfair dismissal relating to redundancy) and equal pay (six months less a day for each).

To be certain that you are calculating time limits correctly, take legal advice as shown above.

Raising a grievance

If you are still employed, you should raise the issue with your employer before taking further action. You could do this informally first, but if that is not successful you could raise a formal grievance. There is information about raising a grievance, drafting letters, and what to expect when raising a grievance on the Advicenow and  Citizens Advice websites,  Make sure to keep a written record of all conversations you have with your employer, and don’t forget to sign and date all letters, keeping a copy for your own records.

Legal Aid

Legal help (a form of legal aid) is still available for discrimination claims. Information can be found on the gov.uk website, including an eligibility calculator which you can use to see whether you would be eligible for free help.

Legal Expenses Insurance

If you are thinking of taking an Employment Tribunal claim, check all your insurance policies for legal expenses cover.  If you have this cover, check to see whether it covers employment claims.  If it does, contact your insurer to see whether you can make an insurance claim to cover the cost of legal advice and representation.