Employment Appeal Tribunal Solicitors Compensation Claims

The Employment Tribunal (ET) sits in numerous locations throughout the UK, usually in the larger cities and consists of a professionally qualified judge (who was formerly a solicitor or barrister) with two lay members one of whom is often a union representative and the other has an interest from an employer's perspective (often a retired businessman). This set up is intended to provide a balanced decision for any application to the ET. Procedure in an ET is relatively informal in order to encourage applicants to appear in person without legal representation. Unfortunately most employers decide that they do need legal representation to defend any compensation claim as a result of which they often employ an employment solicitor or specialist barristers thereby escalating the representation issue which may encourage the employee to be legally represented. No costs awards are made by the Employment Tribunal thereby ensuring that each side must pay their own costs. It is possible in certain circumstances for a solicitor to appeal the decision of the ET to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) on a point of law. An Employment Appeal Tribunal solicitor is able to advise you on application to the EAT and in certain circumstances Legal Aid may be available

Employment Appeal Tribunal Point of Law

A decision made in the ET can be reconsidered by the EAT in certain circumstances. The EAT sits in seven locations in the UK. Public funding which was formerly known as legal aid is available for applications to the EAT. The procedural rules in the EAT are stricter than in the ET and resemble the procedures in a Civil Court of Law. In almost all cases the parties are legally represented usually by specialist employment barristers however in certain circumstances an application to the EAT can also be dealt with by submissions on paper with no live representation. Applications are often financed by the Equal Opportunities Commission, the Commission for Racial Equality or the Disability Rights Commission. There are strict time limits and EAT procedure is not by way of a full re-hearing but considers only certain restricted points of law which may have had a bearing on the initial outcome had they been properly dealt with in the first instance. The term 'point of law' means that the appeal is based on a question as to the interpretation of a given statute and the application of that statute to the claimant's case. New evidence is not usually considered especially if it was available but not put before the EAT.

Time Limits

If the applicant is not satisfied with the outcome before the EAT then an application for reconsideration of certain points may be made to the Court of Appeal (CA)with the permission of the EAT. There are very strict time limits for an appeal from the ET to the EAT and thereafter to the CA :-

• Appealing an ET decision to the EAT : 14 days
• Appealing from the EAT to the CA : 14 days

EAT Solicitors

Specialist employment solicitors deal with applications to the EAT which may be financed by legal aid, privately or by the intervention of an organisation including trades unions, the Equal Opportunities Commission, the Commission for Racial Equality or the Disability Rights Commission. If you have had your claim refused by the ET you may obtain further advice at no cost from a specialist employment law solicitor. Just call the helpline or complete the contact form or email our offices to speak to a lawyer with no charge and no further obligation.