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ACAS & tribunal defence
Act promptly. An ACAS notification or Employment Tribunal claim requires a timely, considered response.
Included in membership: advice and ACAS assistance
Membership covers workplace advice and ACAS assistance, including a dispute or ACAS matter that was already underway when the employer joined. We assess what is alleged, help formulate the employer’s position and assist with ACAS correspondence within the agreed scope.
Settlement is a commercial decision, not an admission that the claim is valid. Equally, refusing to engage should be a considered decision rather than a reaction.
Membership is not tribunal work
- Health and safety support — not included in the membership.
- Tribunal preparation and representation — separately priced, including hearing representation.
- Tribunal award insurance — the membership is not insurance against an award.
- HR software — not included.
Separately charged tribunal stages
These are the published fees. Each stage is priced in writing before the work starts, and work included in the monthly membership is never charged again at these rates.
ET3 and grounds of resistance
The full response to a standard single-claim tribunal case.
£950
complex multi-claim cases quoted separately
Case management through to hearing
Disclosure, witness statements, bundles, chronologies, the schedule of loss and preparation for the hearing.
Quoted individually
the quotation is confirmed in writing before the work starts
Hearing representation
Representation at the Employment Tribunal.
£850
per hearing day
Travel and waiting
Travel and waiting for the hearing.
£150
single charge on the first hearing day only
First hearing day in total
Representation plus the single travel and waiting charge.
£1,000
each later hearing day is £850
Hearing representation is £850 a day, plus a single £150 travel and waiting charge on the first day — £1,000 for the first day and £850 for each later day.
No VAT is currently charged on fees
If an Employment Tribunal claim has arrived
Send the complete Tribunal email or letter, the ET1 claim form, particulars of claim and the stated response deadline immediately.
Building the defence
For a suitable accepted matter, the work may include:
- —identifying each legal complaint and factual allegation;
- —preparing a clear chronology;
- —locating the relevant contract, policies, correspondence and records;
- —obtaining the accounts of the managers involved;
- —identifying admissions, disputes and matters outside the employer’s knowledge;
- —assisting with the ET3 and grounds of resistance;
- —considering jurisdiction, time-limit or party issues;
- —assessing settlement and costs risk;
- —preserving relevant electronic and paper documents.
Case management and evidence
After a response is accepted, the Tribunal may make orders about a schedule of loss, further information, disclosure, a hearing bundle, witness statements, preliminary issues and the final hearing.
Depending on the instruction, we may assist with correspondence, compliance, document lists, witness evidence, chronologies, written submissions and preparation for hearings. Case management is quoted individually, because the preparation can vary from a few days to several weeks.
Representation
Employment Tribunal procedure recognises both legal and lay representatives. Where representation is agreed, Talk Legal may appear for the employer subject to the Tribunal’s rules, orders and control.
The written agreement will state which hearings are included. A hearing, remedy hearing, reconsideration or appeal is not automatically included in a fee agreed for another stage. Representation is charged at the daily rate shown above.
Settlement throughout the process
Settlement is not a sign of weakness. It is a commercial decision that may be right at any stage — during ACAS Early Conciliation, after the ET3, at a preliminary hearing, or on the doorstep of the final hearing.
We may help the employer assess the strength of the claim, the likely compensation, the cost and disruption of fighting on, and whether a COT3 agreement or settlement agreement makes commercial sense. A settlement can also bring finality and avoid the reputational exposure of a published judgment.
Appeals
If the Tribunal’s decision is wrong in law, it may be possible to appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT). The time limit is strict: the usual limit is 42 days, but the starting date depends on the applicable decision and written-reasons rules, so it must be checked immediately.
We may help the employer identify whether an arguable error of law exists, whether an appeal is worthwhile, and assist with the preparation of the appeal if that work is agreed. Not every losing case can or should be appealed.
What we don’t promise
Escalating a claim is not an insurance policy against an award. Talk Legal does not provide tribunal award insurance, and the monthly membership does not cover tribunal preparation or representation.
ACAS and tribunal questions
Received an ACAS notification or Tribunal claim?
Send the papers and the response deadline immediately. We’ll tell you whether we can help and what the next step would be.
Or email us at win@talklegal.net