If you are having problems at work and you have been offered a settlement agreement that seems unfair, you might be able to make a claim at the Employment Tribunal against your employer.
An employment solicitor will be able to tell you if the settlement agreement terms are fair. If you have not been offered a fair settlement, you can negotiate for more compensation or make a claim at the Employment Tribunal.
How to make an Employment Tribunal claim against your employer
To make a claim against your employer, you will first need to contact ACAS. As part of the process, you will be asked if you would be interested in trying to find a solution to the dispute before going to the Employment Tribunal. If you do not want to try their Early Conciliation service, you will need to notify them that you want an Employment Tribunal Certificate.
You must make the claim before the end of the time limit that you have been given to do it. The time limit to make a claim against your employer is normally three months for unfair dismissal and six months for redundancy but this is not always the case. You should ask an employment solicitor to confirm what the time limit would be in your particular situation.
Another thing to consider is that some claims can only be made if you have worked for your employer for more than two years. An employment solicitor would also be able to check if the qualifying time period applies to the claim you want to make.
Types of Employment Tribunal Claims
An Employment Tribunal can decide on the following types of claims:
- Maternity or paternity rights
- Wages, notice pay and holiday pay
- Being dismissed
- Discrimination at work
- Breach of contract by your employer
- Rights to time off work
Check if your case is strong enough to take to the Employment Tribunal
You will need to confirm if your case is strong enough to be taken to the Employment Tribunal. An employment solicitor would be able to look at the evidence you have and tell you what claims you could make as well as whether or not you have met the conditions to make those claims.
I won my Employment Tribunal case, what now?
If you win your case at the Employment Tribunal, it is likely that your employer will be ordered to pay you a sum of money as compensation. However, you might not receive the full payment if your employer is struggling financially and can’t afford to pay you.
It might be worth checking the Employment Tribunal Decisions website to see if any other claims have been brought against your employer and if they were ordered to pay compensation to anyone else.
Making a claim at the Employment Tribunal can be a very long, expensive, and stressful process. In many cases, it is better to ask a solicitor to negotiate your settlement agreement with your employer for more compensation than you were initially offered in the settlement agreement.
With over 10 years of experience in employment law matters, David Philip Harris specialises in providing legal advice on settlement agreements to both employees and employers throughout the UK. David’s opinion and advice are frequently sought after as he contributes often to BBC Radio Berkshire and the People Management Magazine. David Is a long-standing member of The Employment Lawyers Association and The Law Society.