If you feel that you have been unlawfully treated in your work place (such as being unfairly dismissed, discriminated against or unfair deductions made from your pay) you may decide to bring an Employment Tribunal Claim against your employer.
An important point to note is that in certain circumstances, a claim must be made within 3 months.
Before a claim can be submitted to the Tribunal, ACAS (the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration service) must be notified that you intend to make a claim.
This is a mandatory requirement as the claim form requires an ‘Early Conciliation certificate number’ which is provided by ACAS. Without this number, your claim will be rejected by the Tribunal.
ACAS offers both parties an opportunity to use their Early Conciliation service and is voluntary. If both parties agree to participate, an independent ACAS advisor will try to assist parties to reach an agreement to avoid a legal claim. If an agreement is not reached or either party refuses to participate, an Early Conciliation Certificate will be issued.
Once ACAS is notified, the clock on the limitation period stops to allow parties an opportunity to settle. When Early Conciliation ends, extra time is added to allow time to prepare a claim to the tribunal. Due to recent changes, there is no fee for submitting the claim.
If you would like to discuss this further, please contact either Richard Gordon or Robin Cearns on on 020 8502 3991 for more information.
https://www.foskettmarr.co.uk/index.php/our-team/employment-law-essex/