New functions for Legal Officers

Since 8 October 2020, a new category of tribunal staff called Legal Officers (who do not need to be legally qualified) can carry out a range of functions, once authorised by the Senior ET President. These include:

• deciding whether a claim form has a substantive defect under rule 12 of the ET rules;

• deciding applications for an extension of time to respond to a claim, or to comply with a case management order (rule 20);

• deciding applications for a postponement made more than 7 days before the hearing where all parties consent; and

• ordering the dismissal of a claim following a party’s withdrawal.

Either side can apply within 14 days of a Legal Officer’s decision for reconsideration by an Employment Judge.