10. Bringing a tribunal claim

Most employment rights are enforced through employment tribunals or, in Northern Ireland, industrial tribunals or fair employment tribunals. Tribunals in England, Wales and Scotland are governed by the Employment Tribunals Rules of Procedure 2013 and in Northern Ireland by the Industrial Tribunals and Fair Employment Tribunal (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020: the “tribunal rules”.

All tribunal claims are subject to strict time limits; most must be issued within three months of the act complained of. Tribunals have wide case management powers that allow them to issue a range of orders.

Each party usually bears their own legal costs, but there are exceptions where the tribunal can order one party to pay all or some of the other party’s costs.