Charter Statement
We are committed to providing a high quality, efficient and effective service to everyone who uses an employment tribunal.
This booklet 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. You can get more information from the series of booklets we have listed in the section 'Information sources'.
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.
If you have any special needs
If you, or anyone coming to a tribunal with you, have a disability or a particular need, you should contact the tribunal office dealing with your case to discuss the matter. We can provide the following help.
- Our standard booklets in Welsh, Bengali, Cantonese, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu and Gaelic if you ask.
- Our standard booklets in Braille, on audio tape, on disk and in large print if you ask.
- Foreign language and sign language interpreters at the tribunal hearing.
- 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.
You can also download alternative languages booklets and forms from this website.
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 and in writing. You will also need to tell anyone else who is involved in the case.
Coming to a 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.
We can arrange for hearings in Wales to be carried out in Welsh if you ask us.
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 the different sides.
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 chairman, 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 national surveys.
The Employment Judges and members are independent of the Employment Tribunals Service so we cannot look into claims that:
- the tribunal's judgment was unfair or wrong; or
- the Employment Judge did not handle the case properly.
If you want information about how to complain, ask us for our booklet 'Feedback - A Positive Step Forward', which explains our complaints procedure. First step complaints should be addressed to the office manager at the tribunal office dealing with your claim.
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. Contact details for each hearing centre can be found on our venues page.
