New rules on how to issue a tribunal claim

New rules have been published, setting out the methods that must be used to issue a tribunal claim from 29 July 2013.

Presidential practice direction – presentation of claims says completed claim forms must be presented in one of three ways.

The preferred method is using the online form submission service at www.employmenttribunals.service.gov.uk

The online system leaves no room for doubt about when the claim was presented since this is recorded electronically. This may be important if a claim is being presented close to the end of the time limit.

The online system also helps a claimant in calculating the fee due and will make sure that a claimant remembers to pay or apply for remission (since it will not allow the claim to be submitted otherwise) and will reach the fee processing centre very quickly.

Claim forms can also be submitted by post to the Employment Tribunal Central Office, PO Box 10218, Leicester, LE1 8EG.

The third option is to submit forms in person, between 9am and 4pm Monday to Friday, at one of the following employment tribunals: Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff, Huntingdon, Leeds, London, Manchester, Newcastle and Nottingham. Other tribunals will not accept claims.

A claim will be rejected if it is not accompanied by the fee or an application for remission, but even with a rejection, the time limit for bringing the claim will continue to run.

www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/tribunals/employment/rules-legislation/et-practice-direction.pdf