Contractual claims

An employment tribunal is only allowed to hear a contractual claim that arises or is outstanding on the dismissal of the employee. The claims that it can hear are for:

• breach of contract of employment or any other contract connected with employment;

• a sum of money due under the contract; or

• a sum of money due under law relating to the contract.

If the employer is in breach of any contractual term while the employee is still employed, the claim must go to the civil courts.

This distinction arose because tribunals originally had no jurisdiction to hear claims for “wrongful dismissal”, which is where an employee has been dismissed without receiving their full notice. This meant that an employee who was unfairly dismissed without notice had to pursue an unfair dismissal claim in an employment tribunal and a separate wrongful dismissal claim in the civil courts. To remedy this, Parliament extended tribunals’ jurisdiction so that they can hear claims of wrongful dismissal, and other contractual claims, after dismissal.

Whether to extend this jurisdiction further is one of the questions featured in the recent HMCTS consultation on employment law hearing structures (see page 6).