Where an amicable solution cannot be achieved, employees can issue a claim at the Employment Tribunal local to the employer's place of business. The Tribunals are separate from the civil courts and are intended to act as "industrial juries". The Chairman is a qualified lawyer and the two "wing" members are independent individuals with experience of employment relations.
Claims must usually be filed within 3 months of the dismissal or other act complained of and there are only limited circumstances in which this time limit can be extended.
If the Tribunal decides in favour of the employee, it has the power to award compensation. It can also order that the employee is reinstated or re employed, although these orders are rare and will only occur in unfair dismissal cases. The maximum award in unfair dismissal cases is £53,500 (rising to £55,000 with effect from 1st February 2005) although the average award is £4,000. Compensation is based upon losses actually suffered eg compensation for lost earnings.
Compensation for discrimination on the grounds of sex, race or disability is potentially unlimited.
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