News

07 December 2009

Pilot of Caseflow, the new Employment Tribunals and Acas case management system

Caseflow, the new case management system for ET and Acas Individual Conciliation started a pilot in Nottingham ET and Acas offices on 23 November.

The key objective for Caseflow is to improve efficiency and effectiveness by moving from a predominantly paper based world to one where appropriate information can be shared more effectively between parties to a claim and the Employment Tribunal and Acas.

This is an important development in the civil justice arena as it helps us move towards the Government target of providing more of our services to the public electronically.

The pilot is expected to last around three months and, following evaluation, the system will be rolled out to ET and Acas offices in England, Wales and Scotland.

For further information please contact: Sam Kelly

03 November 2009

Tribunals Service to pilot evening sessions in Employment Tribunals

Today (2 November) marks the start of a new six month initiative which will see some Employment Tribunal claims being heard during early evening sessions.

During the pilot scheme some of the more straight–forward hearings will take place just outside normal 'business hours', from around 6 to 8pm, for between one and two evenings a week.

Claims which need to be heard before a judge but do not require a tribunal panel or a full day's hearing, for example wages claims, will be scheduled for the early evening slots. The arrangement for hearing more complex tribunal cases during the day will continue as before.

07 October 2009

Scottish Employment Tribunal President appointed

The Lord President of the Court of Session has appointed Mrs Shona Simon as President of Employment Tribunals (Scotland)

17 August 2009

Stratford office to relocate in September 2009

We would like to notify all users of our intention to relocate the Stratford Employment Tribunal to a new Tribunal Service Centre in the Docklands area of east London.

The move will take place on Friday 25 September 2009. The address of our new office will be:

2nd Floor
Anchorage House
2 Clove Crescent
East India Dock
London
E14 2BE

How to find us at East London Tribunal Service

While the move is still some weeks away we wanted to notify users as early as possible and reassure you that all feasible steps are being taken to ensure a smooth transition of business from our Stratford venues to Anchorage House.

Our last day of business in Stratford will be on Thursday 24 September and hearings will resume at Anchorage House on Wednesday 30 September.

New premises had to be sought in a neighbouring area as the lease at our current locations in Stratford will soon expire, and as a result of the 2012 Olympic regeneration project.

The new Tribunal Service centre provides a high quality, flexible hearing venue for the future and supports the Tribunal Service strategy for creating a Multi Jurisdictional Hearing Centre. The new Tribunal Service centre will carry out all aspects of work currently dealt with by the Asylum Support Tribunal, which will relocate from Croydon; Employment Tribunal; and the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal, currently located in Stratford and East Ham.

We shall confirm in writing the hearing dates and location of all cases to be heard after 24 September 2009. Our internet pages will provide more details in due course.

12 August 2009

Interested in becoming an Employment Tribunal Member?

Applications are being sought from those interested in becoming Employment Tribunal Members. Information on the roles and how to apply is at Employment Tribunal Members. The closing date for applications is 5pm, Friday 18th September 2009.

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06 April 2009

New Dispute Resolution Framework

Today the Employment Act 2002 (Dispute Resolution) Regulations 2004 have been repealed and replaced by a new framework based on the provisions of the Employment Act 2008. The new regime provides the framework for a simplified system and should make things easier for potential tribunal users.

Two types of claim forms

From today we are operating two styles of Employment Tribunal Claim Form, both of which are prescribed and therefore can be used to make a claim. However, one version of the form will be more suitable for those making a claim about events occurring on or after today while the other is more suitable in connection with events occurring prior to today. Claimants should ensure that they use the form most suitable to their circumstances; failure to do so may result in required information not being provided to the Employment Tribunal.

This will also apply to those required to respond to a claim on or after today.

Old or new legislation?

Claimants and respondents will need to be aware, for a transitional period, whether their claim is to be dealt with under the old or new legislation.

In general if your claim is to be dealt with under the old legislation you should use the current Claim and Response form but if your claim is to be dealt with under the new regulations you should use the new Claim or Response form. Please visit our Forms & Guidance page for more information.

For more information on what rules apply from today and transitional arrangements please see the BIS website
Read the BIS press release.

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19 March 2009

Number of equal pay cases increases ten–fold over five years

Figures released by the Tribunals Service today show there has been a significant increase in the number of equal pay claims going to Employment Tribunals.

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26 February 2009

Employment Act 2002 (Dispute Resolution) Regulations 2004

On 6 April 2009 the Employment Act 2002 (Dispute Resolution) Regulations 2004 will be repealed and will be replaced by a new framework based on the provisions of the Employment Act 2008 in Great Britain.

The Employment Bill was introduced to Parliament on 6 December 2007 in the House of Lords and received Royal Assent on 13 November 2008.You can find more information about the Employment Act 2008 and other changes that will come about as a result of the Government's Dispute Resolution Review on the BIS Website.

For a period of time there will be two styles of Employment Tribunal Claim Form, both of which will be prescribed and therefore can be used to make a claim. However, one version of the form will be more suitable for those making a claim about events occurring on or after 6th April 2009 while the other is more suitable in connection with events occurring prior to 6th April. Claimants should ensure that they use the form most suitable to their circumstances; failure to do so may result in required information not being provided to the Employment Tribunal.

This will also apply to those required to respond to a claim on or after 6th April.

Claimants and respondents will need to be aware, for a transitional period, whether their claim is to be dealt with under the existing or new legislation.

In general if your claim is to be dealt with under the old legislation you should use the current Claim and Response form but if your claim is to be dealt with under the new regulations you should use the new Claim or Response form. For more information on what rules will apply from the 6th April and transitional arrangements please see below.

The new Claim and Response forms and guidance, will appear on this website from 6th April 2009

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