Charter statement

This page sets out the standards of service we aim to provide and explains how you can let us know when you are not pleased with our service. Most people coming to a tribunal will be concerned about what to expect. We aim to reduce these concerns by giving you a helpful, polite and professional service.

Our aims, standards and targets
Special requirements
How to contact us
Attending the tribunal
Listening to you
Sources of information

Our aims, standards and targets

We aim to:

acknowledge and deal with your application within three working days of receiving it;
answer 95% of letters within 10 working days of receiving them;
bring 75% of single cases to a hearing within 26 weeks of receiving them;
meet the people involved in a case within 10 minutes of their arrival at reception;
explain what will happen during the hearing;
deal with as many cases as possible during each day (this might mean that a number of cases are 'unallocated' and will start as soon as there is a tribunal available);
send a written judgment within four weeks of the hearing in 85% of cases; and
answer 100% of phone calls within six rings. We will be polite, give our name and give the name of our organisation.

Special requirements

If you, or anyone coming to a tribunal with you, have a disability or a particular need we can make reasonable adjustments to help you use our service. You should contact the office dealing with your case about your needs as soon as possible to discuss the matter.

We can provide the following:

Our standard booklets in Welsh, Bengali, Cantonese, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, Polish and Gaelic (also available in Braille, on audio tape, on disk and in large print);
Foreign language and sign language interpreters at the tribunal hearing; and
Accessible offices for people with disabilities. If necessary, we will arrange for the case to be heard elsewhere.

You can get copies of the standard booklets in other languages or formats from our enquiry line. Please ring 0845 795 9775. The minicom number is 0845 757 3722.

We can make reasonable adjustments to help you use our service. You should tell the office about your needs as soon as possible. We may also be able to help anyone who comes to a tribunal hearing with you.

How to contact us

You can phone or call in at the tribunal offices from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. We also provide general information on tribunal procedures on our enquiry line which is open from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. Please ring 0845 795 9775. The minicom number is 0845 757 3722.

We cannot give you legal advice or tell you how to present your case. We will not be able to say if your case is likely to succeed, or tell you what the tribunal will decide.

We will use plain language in our forms and booklets, although some of the documents and letters have to include legal terms.

You can help by giving us the case number on all your letters or when you phone us. If you send a letter by fax or e-mail, please do not send a hard copy by post as well. If your case has been settled or withdrawn, you must let us know immediately in writing. You will also need to tell anyone else who is involved in the case.

Attending the tribunal

We aim to give you at least 14 days notice of the date of your hearing, and we will send you, or your representative, the following information:

Our information booklet 'The hearing';
A map showing how to get to the tribunal office. This will give details of public transport and any car parks near to the office.
Details of our facilities, including refreshments, phones and the nearest place where you can take photocopies.
A leaflet explaining which expenses you may be able to claim.

At your request, we can arrange for hearings in Wales to be carried out in Welsh.

Please remember that we do not normally contact you again once we have arranged the hearing date. If we have to change the date of your hearing, we aim to let you know as soon as possible.

Before the date of your hearing, you can ask to watch another hearing so you will know about the procedures and what to expect. To do this, please contact the Customer Services Officer at the office dealing with your case.

When you come to the tribunal, you will find:

polite and helpful staff who will be wearing name badges;
clear signs to help you find your way around; and
details of our performance against our current standards.

We normally provide separate waiting rooms for people from opposing sides of a case. For example, claimants, and anyone acting in support of their case, will be seperated from the respondent.

In every office, we have a notice giving the name of the Customer Services Officer who can help if you have any special needs or suggestions about improving our service. If you would like to speak to the Customer Services Officer, please ask any member of our staff.

You can help us by arriving in good time for your hearing and letting us know beforehand if you need any special arrangements for access or other facilities.

We display notices in our public areas giving the names of the Employment Judge, tribunal members and tribunal clerks involved in each case.

We will try to deal with your case as quickly as possible but delays can happen, for example, because the case before yours takes longer than planned. We aim to deal with as many cases as possible during each day. This might mean a number of cases are 'unallocated' and will start as soon as there is a tribunal available. We also aim to tell you as soon as possible if a tribunal cannot hear your case that day.

We will send you a booklet called ‘The judgment’ with the tribunal´s written judgment. The booklet explains how to apply for a review or appeal against the judgment, and the relevant time limits.

Listening to you

We welcome your comments, compliments and complaints and use them to improve our service. We do this by:

paying attention to your comments, compliments and complaints;
asking you to fill in comment forms; and
carrying out local and national surveys.

Employment Judges and members are independent of the Tribunals Service so we cannot look into claims that:

the tribunal's judgment was unfair or wrong; or
the Employment Judge did not handle your case properly.

Please tell us if you want to complain about our service. A member of staff will try to sort out your problem immediately. If you are still not happy, please speak to our Customer Services Officer at the office dealing with your claim.

If you want more information about how to complain, ask us for our booklet "Feedback – A Positive Step Forward". You may also be able to claim compensation if you have lost money because of a mistake by our staff. If you want to claim compensation, you must write to the manager at the tribunal office dealing with your case. In certain circumstances you cannot claim compensation. For example, you cannot claim compensation if the case is not heard on time or is postponed, because this does not result from an administrative decision.

Sources of information

If you want more information about us, you should contact:

Employment Tribunals Public Enquiry line: 0845 795 9775

Or your local tribunal office