Funding a tribunal claim

There is no state legal funding available for representation at employment tribunals in England and Wales; limited legal assistance was available for help during the initial stages, (not including representation) but was withdrawn in 2012. Legal aid was available in limited cases in Scotland but was also withdrawn in 2012.

Members of most trade unions are entitled to free legal services as a benefit of their membership; this includes free representation in employment tribunal claims, either by a solicitor instructed by the trade union or by a union official or legal officer.

Unions will have their own criteria for assessing whether to support a tribunal claim — this might involve an initial assessment that the claim has reasonable prospects of success, for example. Members should check with their union what the criteria are and how to proceed.

Some organisations offer free advice and representation in certain circumstances. These include: Citizens’ Advice Bureaux; Law centres; law school advice clinics; Lawworks, a charity which aims to provide free legal help to individuals and community groups who cannot afford to pay for it and who are unable to access legal aid; and the Free Representation Unit (FRU) offers free representation at hearings. Applications for assistance must come from a registered referral agency, details of which are available from the FRU website.

For contact details see Further information at the end of this booklet.

The conciliation service Acas can provide impartial information and advice on employment matters, but will not be able to represent either party.

Where union assistance is not available or the claim is complex you may wish to hire professional legal representation. The Law Society maintains a list of solicitors specialising in employment law that is searchable by region www.lawsociety.org.uk/find-a-solicitor/

It is also possible to hire a barrister direct (rather than as was previously required, via a solicitor). The main disadvantage of this is that some tasks such as handling the correspondence leading up to the hearing will remain your responsibility. A list of barristers accepting instructions direct is available on the Bar Council’s website at: www.barcouncil.org.uk/instructing-a-barrister/public-access/

Bear in mind that unlike claims brought in the civil courts, the successful party in an employment tribunal is not generally entitled to recover their legal costs. Specifically, it is only where the employer can be shown to have acted vexatiously, abusively, disruptively or otherwise unreasonably, that it may be ordered to pay part or all of your costs, or vice versa. The issue of costs is covered in Chapter 12.

More positively, some household or other insurance policies cover legal expenses in a tribunal claim — usually up to £50,000. Which, unless there are multiple appeal stages, should be sufficient to cover most claims. Further information is available at: http://etclaims.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/ela_inpracticelegalexpense_06081.pdf