There is no Legal Aid available for cases that go to the Employment Tribunal. However, if the case is then referred to the Employment Appeal Tribunal legal aid may be available.

Even if you win your case you will only have your legal costs paid by your opponent in exceptional circumstances, for example your opponent brought or defended a case with no chance of them winning.

A person can make an application to the Employment Tribunal within 3 months of the sex or race discrimination. Though the Tribunal has discretion to decide exactly when the 3 months should start. If in doubt you should always seek expert advice on this, as the guidelines are very complicated.

As most cases involve Indirect Discrimination the Employment Tribunal can decide that discrimination has taken place without having direct proof, they will look at the surrounding circumstances. However, the burden is still on the applicant to prove their case.

The applicant can send a Questionnaire to the employer asking specific questions about the incident and also in an attempt to get the employer to comment on the applicant’s version of the events. The employer’s replies can be used in the Tribunal as evidence, as can refusals to answer questions.

The applicant can also ask the employer or prospective employer to disclose relevant documents, for example internal memos or notes made by the employer or prospective employer during any interview.

The Employment Tribunal can make the following orders if Discrimination has taken place:

Compensation, the respondent can be ordered to pay compensation, including interest. This does not have any limit stated by the law and so can be quite large. It can include damages for the hurt feelings of the applicant and the loss of the chance of the job. This last part can go beyond the loss of the actual wages. The damages can also be increased if the employer’s behaviour was insulting or malicious.

The Tribunal can also recommend that the employer take action to correct the situation or limit the damage done to the applicant. Though the Tribunal cannot force the employer to promote the employee or take on the applicant for the job.

It is normal for the Tribunal to appoint an official from the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) to try a work out a settlement between the two parties.

The Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) can also become involved if the case is a test case or it would be unreasonable for the applicant to act alone, for example an applicant up against a large company with much greater resources.

The CRE have a Code of Practice on Race Relations, the Tribunal as additional evidence can take a breach of this code into account.

The CRE can also launch their own investigation and ask the employer to provide evidence and documents.
The Equal Opportunities Commission can also do the same in sex discrimination case. The EOC also have various codes of conduct and again a breach of these can be used as evidence in an Employment Tribunal.

If both sides agree, tribunals can decide cases on written evidence alone. If no defence has been filed the tribunal can also decide a case without a full hearing.