Using an Employment Tribunal
An employment tribunal is a term used in Britain and Wales which consists of three members who sit in judgment in the tribunal when there is a dispute between employers and employees of companies based in Britain and Wales. There is also an Employment Tribunal in Scotland but it adheres to much different rules then the one that operates in Britain and Wales and the two different entities don’t cross over. The initial employment tribunal in Britain and Wales was established with the creation of the Industrial Training Act 1964. Then in 1998 the name was changed by the Employment Rights Act 1998. The new name is Employment Tribunals which is in existence today.The tribunal is intended to be a forum that allows the fair hearing of disputes between employers and employees.
The complaints may be brought to the tribunal by either the employer or by employees. The tribunals are held in offices in permanent locations throughout the country. These tribunals are statutory jurisdictions which operate by specific dictates and rules and laws. In England and Wales these disputes are often related to unfair dismissal, redundancy pay or employee discrimination which can cover a vast area of discriminatory practices.In the US this would generally be heard by a state employment dispute board such as the California State Employment Board which is based within the state government. There are also Federal boards where employees can bring their disputes. Of course if the company is a union shop any disputes would flow through that specific trade union. In the US this is often about pay issues. If the complaint is about unsafe work areas the complainant would address one of the OSHA offices which concerns itself with work place safety. In the State of California or the Federal agency the complainant would send a letter addressing their complaint. The employer may not even be informed of the letter and the letter doesn’t have to be on an official form and certainly doesn’t have to comply with specific time frames initially.
The respective agency will perform an initial investigation then may appear in person at the company offices or send a letter directing the employer to send in documentation and so forth and then they get notice of a hearing which in the case of California would be heard by an administrative judge.In Britain and Wales the initial complaint must be on a Valid Claim Form and must comply with very rigid and specific time frames as does the entire documentation process. This can be delivered in person or by email. If the Valid Claim Form is not received in a timely manner the entire case may be dismissed without any sort of prehearing so timeliness is essential to the process. After a review the defendant such as the employer, will receive a Response Form which must be returned within 28 days of being sent the form. The entire process is regulated by the Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council and administered by Tribunals Service.