Tribunal claims

Employment tribunal claims means different things to different people. Some people just have it on the backburner and don t think about it until the hearing date. For others, its a year out of their lives. Either way you are not guaranteed to win.
In order to assess the financial benefit of going to a tribunal, there are a few questions that should be asked:-
1. What evidence have you got? Ideally you will have written evidence, or at least witnesses.
2. Does the evidence support your claim?
3. What is your maximum compensation? For unfair dismissal claims this is likely to be the amount of money you didn t earn whilst looking for a new job. You might be unemployed for up to a year, hopefully not any longer!
4. What is the chance of you winning? This will depend on the evidence which you have, but they say that the best case in the world is only 80% likely to win. You never know what will happen in court.
5. Can you fund your claim? Good lawyers are now cherry picking the best cases for no win no fee arrangements. Bad ones are not worth using. Most people will have to fund their claim themselves if they don t have legal expenses insurance.
Having said all that, it is worth mentioning that often employers in receipt of tribunal claims suddenly decide to offer a lot more compensation. They know you mean business.
Ask yourself whether you have steely nerves, a lot of time on your hands and deep pockets. If not, then you may think it easier just to take the money in your compromise agreement and move on. Sometimes however employees are really taken for a ride by their employers and they want to claim as a point of principle. You might also have legal expenses insurance which could cover the costs of your claim.
In conclusion, you should try to negotiate a settlement first, and only when you have exhausted this process should you issue a tribunal claim. Employment tribunal claims can be stressful, long, and expensive. Fortunately, this applies to your employer too. So the best way to use employment tribunal claims is to threaten them, and even start them, but aim to negotiate and reach a settlement.