Please note that the legal report is inevitably a much general and brief overview considering the labor and employment law system in each country, particularly in Western European countries with high social welfare is very comprehensive and complex.
1. Dismissing staff
(1) Overview
Dismissal is when you end an employee’s contract. When dismissing staff, you must do it fairly. There are different types of dismissal:
• fair dismissal
• unfair dismissal
• constructive dismissal
• wrongful dismissal
Fair and unfair dismissal
A dismissal is fair or unfair depending on:
• your reason for it
• how you act during the dismissal process
Constructive dismissal
This is when an employee resigns because you’ve breached their employment contract. This could be a single serious event or a series of less serious events.
An employee could claim constructive dismissal if you:
• cut their wages without agreement
• unlawfully demote them
• allow them to be harassed, bullied or discriminated against
• unfairly increase their workload
• change the location of their workplace at short notice
• make them work in dangerous conditions
A constructive dismissal is not necessarily unfair - but it would be difficult for you to show that a breach of contract was fair. A constructive dismissal might lead to a claim for wrongful dismissal.
Wrongful dismissal
This is where you break the terms of an employee’s contract in the dismissal process, for example dismissing someone without giving them proper notice.
Wrongful dismissal is not the same as unfair dismissal.
If an employee thinks you’ve dismissed them unfairly, constructively or wrongfully, they might take you to an employment tribunal.
(2) Fair dismissals
You must have a valid reason for dismissing an employee. Valid reasons include:
• their capability or conduct
• redundancy
• something that prevents them from legally being able to do their job, for example a driver losing their driving license
There could be other fair reasons too - these are sometimes called ‘other substantial reasons’.
Example:
You take on an employee to provide temporary maternity cover and dismiss them when the cover period ends. The dismissal is fair if you made it clear at the start of their placement that the job was only temporary.
Acting reasonably
Even if you have a fair reason, the dismissal is only fair if you also act reasonably during the dismissal and disciplinary process.
There’s no legal definition of ‘reasonableness’, but if you’re taken to an employment or industrial tribunal they would consider whether you:
• genuinely believed that the reason was fair
• carried out proper investigations where appropriate
• followed the relevant procedures
• told the employee why they were being considered for dismissal and listened to their views (in Northern Ireland, the employer must do this in writing)
• allowed the employee to be accompanied at disciplinary/dismissal hearings
• gave the employee the chance to appeal
Reasonableness might also depend on whether the employee could be expected to understand the consequences of their behavior.
Dismissal and disciplinary procedures
You must set out your dismissal and disciplinary rules and procedures in writing - if you do not, a tribunal can order you to pay an employee compensation.
Summary dismissal
This is when you dismiss someone instantly without notice or pay in lieu of notice, usually because of gross misconduct (for example theft, fraud, violence).
Tribunals may rule a summary dismissal as ‘procedurally unfair’ - you can only suspend someone without pay if their contract says you can do this. If it does not, you should suspend the employee on full pay and investigate the circumstances.
If you feel summary dismissal’s your only choice, you must still follow a fair procedure as you would do for any other disciplinary matter.
(3) Unfair dismissals
Even if you think you’ve dismissed someone fairly, they could still claim unfair dismissal against you if they think that:
• the reason you gave for the dismissal was not the real one
• the reason was unfair
• you acted unreasonably, for example by failing to give them plenty of warning about their dismissal
Automatically unfair reasons for dismissal
Even if you’ve acted reasonably, some reasons for dismissal are classed automatically unfair. These are to do with the following areas:
• pregnancy, including all reasons relating to maternity
• family, including parental leave, paternity leave (birth and adoption), adoption leave or time off for dependents
• acting as an employee representative
• acting as a trade union representative
• acting as an occupational pension scheme trustee
• joining or not joining a trade union
• being a part-time or fixed-term employee
• pay and working hours, including the Working Time Regulations, annual leave and the National Minimum Wage
• whistleblowing
Compulsory retirement on the grounds of age is unlawful unfair dismissal unless you can objectively justify it - but you could be challenged at a tribunal.
Industrial action
It’s automatically unfair to dismiss someone for taking part in official (‘lawful’) industrial action:
• in the 12-week period from the day the industrial action starts
• if the action lasts longer than 12 weeks and you have not taken reasonable steps to resolve the dispute
Only an employment or industrial tribunal can decide whether or not you’ve taken reasonable steps to resolve a dispute.
If you ‘lock out’ employees taking industrial action, the days of the lock-out are not included in the calculation of the 12-week protected period.
A lock-out is where you prevent employees from getting to their workplace, for example by locking the doors.
Disability
If a disabled employee cannot do their job because there are no reasonable adjustments that can be made, it may be fair for you to dismiss them.
Political beliefs and groups
It is not automatically unfair to dismiss someone because of their political beliefs or political groups they belong to, but a tribunal might find this unfair.
There’s no longer a qualifying period for someone going to an employment tribunal if they’ve been dismissed because of political opinions or affiliation. This applies to anyone dismissed from 25 June 2013.
Penalties for unfair dismissals
If a tribunal finds that an employee has been unfairly dismissed, you might be ordered to:
• reinstate them (give them their job back)
• re-engage them (re-employ them in a different job)
You might also have to pay compensation, which depends on the employee’s:
• age
• gross weekly pay
• length of service
You might have to pay extra compensation if you do not follow a tribunal’s order to reinstate someone.
There’s a limit on the amount a tribunal can award for unfair dismissal, apart from in cases relating to:
• health and safety (for example where you unfairly dismiss someone for taking action on health and safety grounds)
• whistleblowing

(4) Eligibility to claim unfair dismissal
Employees can only claim unfair dismissal if they’ve worked for a qualifying period - unless they’re claiming for an automatically unfair reason.
Date employment started When the employee can claim
Before 6 April 2012 After first year of employment
After 6 April 2012 After 2 years of employment
 
Who cannot claim unfair dismissal
The right to complain to a tribunal about unfair dismissal is not available to:
• self-employed people
• independent contractors
• members of the armed forces
• employees who have reached a settlement with their employer through Acas (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) or the Labor Relations Agency (LRA) in Northern Ireland
• employees who have reached a settlement with their employer through a ‘settlement agreement’ or ‘compromise agreement’ after taking legal advice
• employees employed under an illegal contract, for example a barman under the age of 18
• employees covered by a dismissal procedure agreement that’s been legally exempted from the unfair dismissal rules
• employees taking part in unofficial industrial action (unless the dismissal is for an automatically unfair reason)
• police officers (unless the dismissal relates to health and safety or whistleblowing.
• those working on a fishing vessel and paid by a share in the profits or gross earnings of the vessel

(5) Dismissals for conduct or performance reasons
You can dismiss an employee if:
• they’re incapable of doing their job to the required standard
• they’re capable, but unwilling to do their job properly
• they’ve committed some form of misconduct
If you want to dismiss someone, there’s no specific process you must go through by law - as long as you do it fairly.
If a capability issue is linked to someone’s health, you should try as many ways as possible to help them do their job before dismissing them.
Disciplinary procedures
You should include examples of what you consider to be misconduct in your disciplinary rules.
Different disciplinary procedures are appropriate for different circumstances.
Employees have the right to be accompanied to all disciplinary meetings and to appeal to a manager. Keep notes of all meetings and give copies to the employee.
Misconduct
Misconduct can include things like persistent lateness or unauthorized absence from work.
To make sure the dismissal is fair when misconduct is not ‘serious’ or ‘gross’:
i. Arrange a meeting with the employee, telling them the reason for it. At the meeting, give them a chance to explain and issue a first written warning if you’re not satisfied with their reasons. In the warning, tell them how you expect them to improve and over what period - warn them that if they do not improve enough, you’ll give them a final written warning.
ii. Hold a second meeting if their performance or behavior has not improved enough by the deadline - give them a chance to explain and issue a final written warning if you’re not satisfied with their reasons. Revise the action plan with timescales for improvement and warn them that you’ll consider dismissal if there’s no improvement.
iii. Hold a third meeting if their performance or behavior is still not up to standard by these new deadlines. Warn them that dismissal is now possible. After the meeting - or appeal if there is one - decide whether to give the employee a further chance to improve, or dismiss them. You must tell the employee of your final decision, whatever it is.
Serious misconduct
You can issue a single ‘first and final’ written warning if the misconduct or underperformance is serious enough. Explain that not improving could lead to dismissal. ‘Serious enough’ includes if it’s likely to or has caused serious harm to the organization itself.
Gross misconduct
Gross misconduct can include things like theft, physical violence, gross negligence or serious insubordination.
With gross misconduct, you can dismiss the employee immediately as long as you follow a fair procedure. You should investigate the incident and give the employee a chance to respond before deciding to dismiss them.
One-off incidents
An informal discussion may be enough to resolve the issue if the misconduct or underperformance was a one-off and the employee has a good disciplinary record.
(6) Dismissals due to illness
Sometimes an employee may have to stop working because of long-term ill health. They may resign, or you may have to consider dismissing them.
Considering dismissing an employee
Dismissal is a last resort and you should consider as many ways as possible to help the employee back to work, including:
• getting a medical report from their GP with the employee’s permission - they have the right to see the report before you do
• arranging an occupational health assessment
• work out whether or not they’re disabled and make any reasonable adjustments to help them do their job
If the employee cannot do their job because there are no reasonable adjustments that can be made, it may be fair for you to dismiss them, even if they’re disabled.
(7) How to dismiss someone
During the dismissal procedure, make sure you act fairly and reasonably. You must treat the employee with sensitivity.
Your procedure should follow the advice set out in the Acas (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) code of practice, or the Labor Relations Agency (LRA) code of practice for Northern Ireland.
Download ‘Acas code of practice for disciplinary and grievance procedures’ (PDF, 341KB)
Download ‘LRA code of practice for disciplinary and grievance procedures’ (PDF, 1.2MB)
If you do not follow the code and are taken to an employment or industrial tribunal, you may have to pay compensation.

2. Making staff redundant
(1) Overview
Redundancy is when you dismiss an employee because you no longer need anyone to do their job. This might be because the business is:
• changing what it does
• doing things in a different way, for example using new machinery
• changing location or closing down
For a redundancy to be genuine, you must demonstrate that the employee’s job will no longer exist.
Redundancies can be compulsory or non-compulsory. If you do have to make redundancies you can get help from Jobcentre Plus.
Employee rights
Employees have certain rights and may be entitled to redundancy pay if they’re made redundant.
All employees under notice of redundancy have the right to:
• reasonable time off to look for a new job or arrange training
• not be unfairly selected for redundancy
You should always take steps to avoid redundancies before dismissing staff.
Alternative employment
Employers must try to find suitable alternative employment within the organization for employees they’ve made redundant.
Employees can try out an alternative role for 4 weeks (or more if agreed in writing) without giving up their right to redundancy pay.
(2) Avoiding redundancies
(3) You should take steps to avoid compulsory redundancies, for example by:
(4) seeking applicants for voluntary redundancy or early retirement
(5) seeking applications from existing staff to work flexibly
(6) laying off self-employed contractors, freelancers etc
(7) not using casual labor
(8) restricting recruitment
(9) reducing or banning overtime
(10) filling vacancies elsewhere in the business with existing employees
(11) short-time working or temporary lay-offs
Offers of alternative work
Even if you’ve selected someone for redundancy, you can still offer them alternative work.
For an offer to be valid:
• it should be unconditional and in writing
• it must be made before the employee’s current contract ends
• it should show how the new job differs from the old
• the job must actually be offered to the employee - they should not have to apply
• the new job must start within 4 weeks of the old job ending
Employees who accept an offer of alternative work are allowed a 4-week trial period to see if the work is suitable. If you both agree that it is not, they can still claim redundancy pay.
The trial period can be longer than 4 weeks if you agree this in writing.
If you think the job is suitable but the employee refuses to take it, they might lose any redundancy pay entitlement.
(3) Lay-offs and short-time working
You can lay off an employee (ask them to stay at home or take unpaid leave) when you temporarily cannot give them paid work - as long as the employment contract allows this.
Short-time working is when an employee works reduced hours or is paid less than half a week’s pay.
Laying off staff or short-time working can help avoid redundancies - but you have to agree this with staff first.
This could be in:
• their employment contract
• a national agreement for the industry
• a collective agreement between you and a recognized trade union
National and collective agreements can only be enforced if they’re in the employee’s employment contract.
You may also be able to lay off an employee or put them on short-time working:
• where you have clear evidence showing it’s been widely accepted in your organization over a long period of time
• if you agree with the employee to change their employment contract to allow them to be laid off or put on short-time working (this will not automatically give you the power to do this without their consent in the future)
Statutory guarantee payments
Employees are entitled to these if you do not provide them with a full day’s work during the time they’d normally be required to work.
The maximum payment is £25 a day for 5 days in any 3 months (ie £125). If employees usually earn less than £25 a day, they’ll get their usual daily rate. For part-time workers, the rate is worked out proportionally.
Employees can claim a redundancy payment from you if the lay-off or short-time working runs for:
• 4 or more weeks in a row
• 6 or more weeks in a 13 week period, where no more than 3 are in a row
They must give you written notice in advance that they want to make a claim.
You do not have to pay if they’ll return to normal working hours within 4 weeks.
If you do not give guarantee pay to someone who’s entitled to it, they could take you to an employment tribunal.
There’s more advice on lay-offs and short-time working on the Acas (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) website.
(4) Non-compulsory redundancy
Voluntary redundancy
This is where you ask employees if they’d like to volunteer for redundancy.
You must have a fair and transparent selection process and tell employees they will not automatically be selected just because they applied.
Early retirement
This is where you offer employees incentives to retire early. It is used as an alternative to voluntary redundancy.
The offer must be made across the workforce - you cannot single out specific individuals.
You cannot force anyone into early retirement - it must be the employee’s choice.
(5) Compulsory redundancy
If you decide you need to make compulsory redundancies, you must:
• identify which employees will be made redundant
• make sure you select people fairly - do not discriminate
Fair selection criteria
Fair reasons for selecting employees for redundancy include:
• skills, qualifications and aptitude
• standard of work and/or performance
• attendance
• disciplinary record
You can select employees based on their length of service (‘last in, first out’) but only if you can justify it. It could be indirect discrimination if it affects one group of people more than another.
Do not rely on length of service as your only selection criteria - this is likely to be age discrimination.
Unfair selection criteria
Some selection criteria are automatically unfair. You must not select an employee for redundancy based on any of the following reasons:
• pregnancy, including all reasons relating to maternity
• family, including parental leave, paternity leave (birth and adoption), adoption leave or time off for dependents
• acting as an employee representative
• acting as a trade union representative
• joining or not joining a trade union
• being a part-time or fixed-term employee
• age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation
• pay and working hours, including the Working Time Regulations, annual leave and the National Minimum Wage
You should always consult employees in a redundancy situation.

(6) Redundancy consultations
If you do not consult employees in a redundancy situation, any redundancies you make will almost certainly be unfair and you could be taken to an employment tribunal.
You must follow ‘collective consultation’ rules if you’re making 20 or more employees redundant within any 90-day period at a single establishment.
There are no set rules to follow if there are fewer than 20 redundancies planned, but it’s good practice to fully consult employees and their representatives. An employment tribunal could decide that you’ve dismissed your staff unfairly if you do not.
Consultation does not have to end in agreement, but it must be carried out with a view to reaching it, including ways of avoiding or reducing the redundancies.
Collective consultation
Follow these steps.
i. You must notify the Redundancy Payments Service (RPS) before a consultation starts. The deadline depends on the number of proposed redundancies.
ii. Consult with trade union representatives or elected employee representatives - or with staff directly if there are none.
iii. Provide information to representatives or staff about the planned redundancies, giving representatives or staff enough time to consider them.
iv. Respond to any requests for further information.
v. Give any affected staff termination notices showing the agreed leaving date.
vi. Issue redundancy notices once the consultation is complete.
Notification
Notify RPS by filling in form HR1. Instructions on where to send it are on the form.
The deadline for notifying RPS depends on the number of proposed redundancies.
Number of proposed redundancies When notification to RPS must be given
20 to 99 30 days before the first redundancy
100 or more 45 days before the first redundancy
You can be fined an unlimited amount if you do not notify RPS.
Consultation
There’s no time limit on how long consultations last, but there is a minimum period before you can dismiss any employees.
Number of proposed redundancies Minimum consultation period before dismissal
20 to 99 30 days
100 or more 45 days
Information you must provide to representatives or staff
You must provide written details of:
• the reasons for redundancies
• the numbers and categories of employees involved
• the numbers of employees in each category
• how you plan to select employees for redundancy
• how you’ll carry out redundancies
• how you’ll work out redundancy payments
vii. Further information
Download the guidance on how to manage collective redundancies from Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas).
Download ‘Handling large-scale redundancies’ (PDF, 524KB)
(7) Giving staff notice
You must give staff notice and agree a leaving date once you’ve finished the redundancy consultations.
Give staff at least the statutory notice period, based on how long they have worked.
Length of service Notice you must give
1 month to 2 years At least a week
2 years to 12 years A week’s notice for every year employed
12 or more years 12 weeks
You can allow staff to leave earlier than the planned leaving date (for example without notice) by offering payment in lieu of notice.
Notice pay
You must give staff notice pay - based on their pay rate and notice period - or make a payment in lieu of notice.
Pay in lieu of notice
If you have included a payment in lieu of notice clause in the employment contract, you can end your staff’s employment with no notice. This lets you make a payment to cover the notice period they would have worked.
These payments must have tax and National Insurance deducted.
When you make payments in lieu of notice, you still have to pay staff the basic pay they would have got during the notice period. You also have to pay pension, private health care insurance or other contributions if it’s in the employee’s contract.
(8) Redundancy pay
Employees you make redundant might be entitled to redundancy pay - this is called a ‘statutory redundancy payment’.
To be eligible, an individual must:
• be an employee working under a contract of employment
• have at least 2 years’ continuous service
• have been dismissed, laid off or put on short-time working - those who opted for early retirement do not qualify
You must make the payment when you dismiss the employee, or soon after.
A redundant employee also has the right to a written statement setting out the amount of redundancy payment and how you worked it out.
Statutory redundancy pay rates
These are based on an employee’s age and length of employment and are counted back from the date of dismissal.
Employees get:
• 1.5 weeks’ pay for each year of employment after their 41st birthday
• a week’s pay for each year of employment after their 22nd birthday
• half a week’s pay for each year of employment up to their 22nd birthday
Length of service is capped at 20 years and weekly pay is capped at £508. The maximum amount of statutory redundancy pay is £15,240.
You can give your staff extra redundancy pay if you want to, or have a qualifying period of less than 2 years.
You can use the redundancy pay calculator to work out payments.
If you do not pay
If you fail to pay redundancy pay or if an employee disagrees with the amount, they have 6 months from the date their employment ended to make a claim for payment to an employment tribunal.
If an employee does not claim in time, a tribunal still has 6 months to decide whether or not they should get a payment.
If you have financial difficulties
If your business would become insolvent as a result of making the statutory redundancy payments, the Insolvency Service’s Redundancy Payments Office may be able to help.
You’d have to repay any debt as soon as possible - contact the Redundancy Payments Helpline for more information.
Redundancy Payments Helpline
Telephone: 0845 145 0004
Find out about call charges
Tax
Employees who’ve been made redundant only pay tax on payments over £30,000. They do not pay any National Insurance.
Tax and National Insurance are deducted from other termination payments, for example payment in lieu of a holiday or notice.
(9) Getting help
If you have to make redundancies, Jobcentre Plus can give you and your employees support and advice through its Rapid Response Service.
Support could include:
• helping people facing redundancy to write CVs and find jobs
• providing general information about benefits
• helping people to find the right training and learn new skills
• helping with costs like travel to work expenses
Jobcentre Plus may also provide on-site support for large scale redundancies.
In Scotland, Rapid Response Service support is delivered through Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) - there’s more information on the Skills Development Scotland website.
In Wales, the service is delivered by the ReAct scheme.
Acas has an online redundancy helpline.
How to get help
To find out how your business can use the Rapid Response Service, email rrs.enquiries@jobcentreplus.gsi.gov.uk and include:
• your contact details
• the town(s) your business is based in (including postcodes)
• the location(s) of the redundancies

3. Being taken to an employment tribunal
(1) Overview
You can be taken to an employment tribunal by an employee or someone else (for example a job applicant or trade union) over various issues, including:
• pay
• dismissal
• discrimination
This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg).
The tribunal is independent of government and will listen to you (the ‘respondent’) and the other party (the ‘claimant’) before making a decision.
You may have to pay compensation or reinstate the claimant if you lose the case.
Solve the dispute without a hearing
You’ll be contacted by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) if someone wants to make a claim against you. They’ll offer to work with you and the claimant to try to solve the problem without it going to a tribunal - this is called ‘conciliation’.
Call Acas for help and advice.
Acas
Telephone: 0300 123 11 00
Textphone: 18001 0300 123 1100
Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm
Saturday, 9am to 1pm
Find out about call charges
Respond to a claim
The tribunal will send you a letter (known as a ‘response pack’) if a claim has been made against you and conciliation has not worked. You can respond either:
• online
• by filling out and returning the response pack you’re sent
• by downloading and filling in the response form and sending it to the tribunal office dealing with the case
Read the response guidance before you fill in the form.
You must respond to the claim within 28 days.
You may be able to get more time to respond - ask the tribunal. If you’re late or do not respond, the tribunal may make a decision against you without a hearing.
Offer the claimant compensation
You can try to settle the case at any time by offering to pay compensation to the claimant (known as a ‘settlement agreement’).
Get help or legal advice
You may want to get legal advice if a claim is made against you.
Call the employment tribunal enquiry line for general guidance on how the process works. They cannot give you legal advice.
Employment Tribunal customer contact center
Telephone: 0300 123 1024 (England and Wales)
Telephone: 0300 790 6234 (Scotland)
Textphone: 18001 0300 123 1024 (England and Wales)
Textphone: 18001 0300 790 6234 (Scotland)
Find out about call charges
If you’re in Northern Ireland
Your case will be dealt with by the Office of Industrial Tribunals and the Fair Employment Tribunal.
(2) Before the hearing
You’ll be given at least 14 days’ notice before the hearing - you’ll get a letter confirming this. You must prepare documents and arrange for witnesses to attend in advance.
‘Preliminary hearing’
You may be asked to go to an initial hearing (called a preliminary hearing) with the judge to decide on things like:
• the date and time of a hearing
• how long the hearing should take
The tribunal will let you know if you’ll have to give evidence or provide any extra information.
• Arrange documents
You can ask the claimant for documents that will help you with the case, and they can request documents from you.
Examples of documents include:
• a contract of employment
• pay slips
• details of a pension scheme
• notes from relevant meetings
Usually the tribunal will issue an order setting out a timetable for when you should exchange documents.
You’ll be sent a letter telling you how many copies of each document to bring to the hearing.
Organize witnesses
You can bring witnesses to the hearing if they can give evidence directly relevant to the case.
If you ask a witness to attend and they do not want to, you can ask the tribunal to order them to come. You must apply in writing to the tribunal office dealing with the case, giving:
• the name and address of the witness
• details of what the witness may be able to say and how it will help the case
• the reason the witness has refused to attend (if they gave you one)
You’ll most likely be responsible for paying the witness’s expenses.
(3) At the hearing
Cases are normally held at the employment tribunal office closest to where you worked.
You must take the documents you’re using to support the case.
You cannot claim for expenses for going to the hearing.
What happens at the hearing
You’ll present the case to the tribunal - someone else can do this for you, such as a lawyer, friend or family member. The claimant will present their case against you.
You may be asked questions by:
• the judge
• the claimant
• 2 other tribunal members (only in certain tribunals)
Get a decision
You’ll be sent the decision in the post a few days or weeks after the hearing. In certain cases you may also be given the decision at the hearing.
If you win the case
In most cases, you will not be awarded any compensation if you win. However, if the claimant acted unreasonably or if their case had no hope of success, you can ask to be awarded costs by the tribunal.
(4) If you lose the case
If you lose, the tribunal can order you to do certain things depending on the type of case. Examples include:
• giving the claimant their job back
• paying compensation if you cannot give the claimant their job back
• paying witness expenses
• paying damages or loss of earnings
Pay compensation
Paying compensation is the most common outcome of a tribunal. There can be limits to the amount of money a tribunal can award. There’s no limit in cases of discrimination.
The tribunal usually works out the amount based on the financial loss the person has suffered as a result of your actions.
Interest is calculated from the day the judgment is received, but you will not have to pay interest if you pay the full compensation award within 14 days.
You can be taken to court and forced to pay. You can also be fined and named online by the government if you do not pay.
• Pay back state benefits
You might have to pay back any Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support or Employment Support Allowance (ESA) that the claimant claimed while taking their case to the tribunal.
This is to prevent them from getting paid twice.
The tribunal and the Compensation Recovery Unit will tell you what you need to do and how much to pay.
(5) If you disagree with a tribunal decision
You can ask the tribunal to reconsider the decision if you lose the case.
You must write to the tribunal office within 14 days of getting the decision, saying why you want it to be reconsidered.
You need to give good reasons, such as:
• the tribunal made a mistake in the way it reached its decision
• you were not told about the hearing
• new evidence has turned up since the hearing
Send your letter to the tribunal office that dealt with the case.
Appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal
You can also appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal if you think the employment tribunal made a legal mistake.
(6) Legislation
The Employment Tribunal follows certain rules and processes that you also have to follow.
You can also read other relevant tribunal rules and regulations.
The tribunal has issued guidance and practice directions which provides more information about specific areas, such as postponing hearings and serving documents.
You can also read guidance about specific cases.

4. Appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT)
(1) Overview
You can appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) if you think a legal mistake was made in an employment tribunal case.
For example, you could appeal if it:
• got the law wrong
• did not apply the correct law
• did not follow the correct procedures and this affected the decision
• had no evidence to support its decision
• was unfairly biased towards the other party
EAT is independent of government and will listen to both sides of the argument before making a decision.
Before you appeal
Ask the employment tribunal to send you the reasons for the decision, if you do not already have them. You can continue your appeal while you wait for them.
Help with your appeal
Read the rules that EAT follows when making decisions.
You can also get free legal advice from Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland.
Contact EAT
Contact the enquiry line for more information.
EAT public enquiry line
Telephone: 020 7273 1041 (England and Wales)
Telephone: 0131 225 3963 (Scotland)
Find out about call charges
(2) How to appeal
Fill in the notice of appeal form. Send it, with the supporting documents listed on the form, to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) office by email, fax or post.
You do not have to pay a fee to make an appeal.
Read the full practice direction and appeal guidance before you fill in the form.
Deadline for appealing
You must appeal within 42 days of the date that either:
• the decision was sent to you
• the reasons were sent to you (but only if the Employment Tribunal did not provide reasons at the hearing or you asked for the reasons within 14 days of the decision being sent to you)
Your appeal must arrive by 4pm on the final day.
You can ask for an appeal to be considered even if it’s late, but extensions are rarely given, and you must have a good reason.
Where to send your appeal
For cases in England and Wales
Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT)
londoneat@justice.gov.uk
Telephone: 020 7273 1041
Fax: 01264 785 028
Find out about call charges
Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT)
Second Floor
Fleetbank House
2-6 Salisbury Square
London
EC4Y 8AE
For cases in Scotland
Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT)
edinburgheat@justice.gov.uk
Telephone: 0131 225 3963
Fax: 01264 785 030
Find out about call charges
Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT)
George House
126 George Street
Edinburgh
EH2 4HH
After you appeal
EAT will decide if your case can go ahead. If it can, you may be asked to attend a hearing to present your case.
If your appeal cannot go ahead, you’ll be sent a letter explaining why and whether you can appeal further.
(3) The tribunal hearing
You may have to attend a hearing where you (or your representative) will present your case. The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) will decide if your appeal has been successful.
You’ll be told the outcome of the case either at the end of the hearing or afterwards by letter.
Preparing for the hearing
You’ll usually be asked when you’re available to attend a hearing. In certain cases you may be told when a hearing will take place, but you’ll be told at least 14 days beforehand. Hearings can be held sooner than this under exceptional circumstances.
You’ll be told what documents you need to send to EAT and to other parties.
You may be able to get free advice immediately before the hearing if you do not have a representative - ask EAT for details.
You cannot claim any expenses for going to a hearing.
What happens at the hearing
You’ll present your case - someone else can do this for you, for example a lawyer, friend or family member. The other party will present the case against you. You may be asked questions about your case.
(4) If you lose your case
You may be able to appeal to a higher court if you think there was a legal problem with the Employment Appeal Tribunal’s (EAT’s) decision.
Get legal help or advice if you’re not sure about this.
Ask permission to appeal
You must ask for permission before you appeal. You can either ask EAT or the higher court directly.
Asking EAT
You must ask within 7 days of receiving the decision (or within 42 days if the employment tribunal whose decision you are appealing was held in Scotland).
You can ask for permission on the day of your hearing (if you receive your decision on the day).
You must provide your grounds for appeal and the legal problem with the decision.
If you’re refused permission, you can ask the higher court directly.
Asking the higher court
You can ask the Court of Appeal for permission. You must do this within 21 days of the date you were told you lost your case or were refused permission by EAT.
If the employment tribunal that made the initial decision was based in Scotland, ask the Court of Session for permission.
Appeal to the higher court
You can appeal to the Court of Appeal once you’ve been given permission.
If the employment tribunal that made the initial decision was based in Scotland, you should appeal to the Court of Session.
(5) Legislation and previous decisions
Read the rules the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) must follow and its decisions on previous cases.
Legislation
EAT must follow the rules and process in the:
• Employment Appeal Tribunal Rules 1993 (as amended)
• Employment Tribunals Act 1996
EAT has also issued a practice direction that provides more detailed guidance.
Previous decisions
You can search for decisions made in other EAT cases.