Unfair dismissal claim - anyone done this? I’m nervous 😬

[nuke1]

Thinking I’m going to press send on a claim via ACAS for unfair dismal after my recent redundancy. Legal eyes say I have a good case. I’m nervous and stressed but either way I’m out of a job

Anyone got any experience of this?

thank you

No experience but you have nothing to loose. If you have already left the job then there is no harm in doing this as they can’t sack you. If you have a good legal case then I wish you the best of luck OP

I’m still there as they offered me a short term contract covering for a colleague who is on long term sickness

But I lost my permanent position and the four things ACAS say are reasons for unfair dismissal apply

I did, but over 30 years ago now. The judge or person deciding said I did have a good claim, but as my first year was a YTS and my second was paid for by the employer it didn't count as two years continuous employment, so it couldn't go any where.

It’s hard to respond as no context. Apple it might be difficult to share details.
I was once on the receiving end of a tribunal which was thankfully thrown out as there was no basis for it.
it you have a good case it might be worth moving forward with it, but whatever the outcome, prepare yourself for a prolonged and stressful time

What do you want to get out of the claim, OP? Presumably you don’t want them to give you your old job back, or to continue working there, after what has happened, so what is it you’d be taking them to tribunal for? I have no knowledge or experience of this situation, but my gut feeling is that I would want to have secured a job elsewhere using a good reference from them before I started any claim, as I’m sure they won’t be well disposed to you once they get notice of your claim. I don’t know if that would affect your claim though, or if there’s a time limit on taking action. I’d be most concerned about getting a new job and having a good reference from them, but that might be down to my personal risk aversion.

I reached out once to a charity who helped me frame a grievance for something. They outlined how if I wanted to take my employer to tribunal it should be the last resort as the outcome (payout / loss) would entail parting ways. If you have a FTC then it probably doesn’t matter to you either way.

@StopWindingBobStopWinding it’s rarely about keeping your job, it’s more about getting a payout.

It’s about a payout definitely- the redundancy was dealt with unfairly and I have taken legal advice but you have to go through ACAS there is a time limit that I only just realised so I have to make a quick decision or let it go

That’s what I was getting at. Unless it was enough money that the OP didn’t have to work again, I’d be more concerned with that positive reference to get me another job. I know it’s the principle of the thing but the bills still need paying for the whole future.

I know it may take 18 months too if they don’t settle and it goes to tribunal- I am questioning whether it’s worth it, but then I think it is, but then I think it’s going to be stressful and peace is more important

the reference issue is a bit of a concern too

but most references I’ve had just state that I worked there for however long and nothing personal

I change my mind by the hour lol 😂

Appreciate your input thanks

The time limit is three months minus a day, but the Acas mediation process extends that by four to six weeks (check with them because it depends where you are in the timeframe when you submit as to how much it extends by).

I can't think what the "four things that make it unfair" could possibly be, and I've defended dozens of tribunal claims (I'm currently dealt with eight).

You can withdraw any time, or agree to settle any time, so it's not a make or break situation.

Send it. You can always withdraw it later if you want to.

Could take way longer, I have cases listed for late 2028 currently.

And that's assuming they don't get cancelled and put back.

Admittedly a few do come through fairly quickly. But the other side could well ask for an extension at any point.

Thanks - I’m quoting ACAS who said there are four pillars that make up an unfair dismissal claim - my memory fails me but - not following consultation process correctly, unfair selection for redundancy, I was a bit stressed during the call and I was walking round the garden to get away from my dogs barking at the delivery guy next door so I didn’t take notes and I can’t remember the other two

And ACAS said it will be 5 weeks before the process even starts as they are backed up

They are.

But you must still put your tribunal claim in on time. If the "process" with Acas hasn't started in time, just ask them to issue the certificate as you need the number for the form.

Don't wait for Acas, missing the date because Acas was slow is not a reason for a late submission.

I hope you've taken separate legal advice. Acas are generally lovely helpful people. But not always great at employment law, they are very basic.

I've looked up these four pillars - they seem to be: genuine redundancy situation (very easy for an employer to claim tbh, tribunal rarely questions that very much); fair and objective selection (of course, if there IS selection, there isn't always. For example, if a whole function is removed, or a site closed, or only one stand alone role impacted, there is no selection); meaningful consultation (hopefully you had this, it's not hard for an employer to do?); and consideration of alternatives (they can prove they did this because they have put you in the cover role. They do not have to create a role for you though).

They have said I need to send early conciliation form first to effectively stop the clock - my the months -1 day is next week- then they will liaise with my employer

At my first meeting they told me my end date would be the following week so I feel like it wasn’t a meaningful consultation and they had already made the decision

Also, did they give you the right to appeal the redundancy decision?

I haven’t personally but have a close friend who did and won (it was settled just before it went to tribunal) and have been tangentially involved on the company’s side at a previous employer in a handful of cases where the ex employee was making both an unfair dismissal or constructive dismissal claim and an Employer’s Liability claim.

My thoughts for what they are worth:

• payouts are never the huge sums people often expect, unless you had a six figure, C-suite role at an investment bank or similar
• the process is long and hard going and the onus is on you to prove your case
• given the above, you’ll want (and need) a good employment solicitor to act on your behalf - this will be costly
• documentation is critical to evidence any claim - make sure you have any documents, policies, emails etc to support your case and don’t rely on being able to access these through requests to your employer once you’ve left
• often tribunals may reach a mixed outcome which will impact any financial compensation you may get, e.g. they determine the company failed to follow the proper redundancy process and therefore breached the ACAS Code of Practice but that the company’s aim/intent behind the redundancy was genuine
• some industries are very small and people talk - whilst the decision to make a claim against an employer shouldn’t be held against someone being considered for employment, people can gain a reputation (however unfair) for being difficult/not a team player in these kind of situations

Most companies do not want the time, money or resource drain involved in dealing with these types of claims and taking them all the way to tribunal. In my experience, if there is a modicum of merit to the claim, most will look to reach a settlement before it gets that far as it saves legal costs and can be NDAd so won’t have the potential to blow back on their reputation as a good employer.

If you and any legal advisors you’ve consulted believe you have a good case, then it’s probably worthwhile you having a shot. But prepare yourself for a slog and don’t allow it to grind you down.

That's not right.

You need to put your tribunal form in on time. The clock doesn't "stop", there is an extension for the Acas process, but it's a set period, not indefinite. Acas have no discretion to extend that, it's set in law. Your legal advisor can explain what your date will be.

And they probably won't get to your employer before the date - with very few of ours now do we hear from Acas before the form comes in. And the first thing I do every single time is check the date of the "event", check the date on the Acas cert, and check to see if the claim is in time. Because out of time claims get dismissed very easily. "I thought Acas extended it" is not an excuse, no judge would allow that I'm afraid. I've brought a dismissal request where that was the claimants exact reason - case was dismissed for out of time (by about four days).

I assume you have two years service?