An individual who believes he has been unjustifiably disciplined by a trade union may make a complaint to an industrial tribunal. This should be done within three months of the union's disciplinary decision. Tribunals have discretion to extend this period only where:

• they consider it was not reasonably practicable for the complaint to be presented within three months; or
• any delay was due to a reasonable attempt by the individual to appeal against the decision or to have it reconsidered by the union.

An application form IT1, or in Scotland IT1 (Scot), should be used. These, and an explanatory leaflet, How to apply to an employment tribunal, can be obtained from local offices of the Employment Service. The applicant should send the completed form to the appropriate Tribunal Office (the application form tells you which this is).

What happens next?

Conciliation.

A copy of the application form is sent to the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS). An ACAS conciliator will attempt to assist the parties to reach a voluntary settlement without the need for a tribunal hearing if the parties concerned ask him to do so or if he thinks that there is a reasonable chance of success. Conciliators can also assist, at the request of any of the parties concerned, before a formal complaint has been made to a tribunal.

Tribunal hearing.

A union may have procedures for settling complaints made by members. Where such procedures exist, individuals may wish to make use of them, and an industrial tribunal can extend the time limit for making an application where such procedures have been used.

Voluntary procedures.

If a voluntary settlement is not reached, or the application is not withdrawn, the member's complaint of unjustifiable discipline will be heard by the industrial tribunal. The tribunal will then decide whether the disciplinary action has infringed the right of the member not to be unjustifiably disciplined.

If the tribunal finds the complaint of unjustifiable discipline well-founded it will make a declaration to that effect.

This may be sufficient remedy in itself, particularly if the union withdraws the disciplinary action. The individual has the right, however, to make an application for compensation to be paid by the union and/or for an order that the union pay to him the amount of any fine which he has paid but not had refunded.

An application for compensation or for an order should be made:

• to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) if the union has not lifted the penalty imposed, or if it has not taken all necessary steps to reverse anything done in giving effect to the penalty;
• to an Employment tribunal in any other case.

The application will only be considered if it is made more than four weeks but less than six months after the date of the tribunal's declaration that disciplinary action was unjustifiable.

The EAT and employment tribunals have the power to transfer applications to each other if they have beed made to the wrong place. The application will then be considered as if it had originally been made to the correct tribunal.

How much compensation can be paid?

The tribunal or the EAT will award whatever compensation it considers just and equitable in all the circumstances. Factors taken into account will include, where appropriate, the individual's duty to reduce any financial loss, and whether or not his conduct contributed to the disciplinary action. The current maximum amount of compensation which may be awarded is £56,900. Where the application has been made to the EAT (because the union has not reversed the effect of any penalty), there will normally be a minimum award of £5,300 compensation. These figures are revised annually in line with the retail prices index.

Appeals

An appeal can be made to the EAT on any question of law arising from an employment tribunal's decision or the proceedings before it.

What if the discipline in question takes the form of expulsion from the union?

In addition to the right not to be unjustifiably disciplined, individuals now have the right not to be excluded or expelled from a union for anything other than a "permitted reason". The permitted reasons are defined in law, and include geographical or occupational limits on recruitment and conduct - but not the conduct described in this booklet for which discipline would be unjustifiable. An individual who is expelled from the union for any other reason may bring a complaint to an industrial tribunal, and may be awarded compensation.

An individual who is expelled from his union for conduct described in this booklet may therefore have two rights of complaint: one under the law relating to unjustifiable discipline, and one under the law on exclusion or expulsion from a trade union. In this situation, the individual may make two separate complaints to the industrial tribunal, but if one of those complaints is declared to be well-founded, he will not be able to proceed with the second.

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