What are employment tribunals?
An employment tribunal is a forum for determining disputes between employers and employees that arise from the employment relationship. As with any other civil court, their judgments are binding upon the parties and can be appealed to the Employment Appeal Tribunal upon points of law (with further appeals to the Court of Appeal and the House of Lords). Tribunals must act independently, follow their own rules of procedure and, since 2001, act in accordance with the “overriding objective”, which is to enable tribunals “to deal with cases justly”. In particular, this means ensuring that the parties are on an equal footing, dealing with cases proportionately, dealing with cases expeditiously and fairly, and saving expense. Who sits on an employment tribunal panel? One of the major differences to a court is that a full employment tribunal consists of three members: an employment judge who is legally qualified and two wing members. One wing member must come from an employer background and th
