Employment Tribunal - Reviews and Appeals

Reviews and Appeals

A party may apply to the Tribunal that has issued a Judgment requesting a review of that Tribunal's own decision or Judgment. A Tribunal may also review its decision of its own motion. Reviews may be granted where an error is relatively minor, for example a clerical error, under Rule 37 of the Rules of Procedure (known as the "slip rule"), where an obvious and important mistake, such as the name of a party being incorrectly spelt in the heading, appears in the Judgment. The Tribunal will then issue a Certificate of Correction, to state the alteration to the Judgment.

Where a party believes the Tribunal has misapplied the law or acted perversely, the review process is inappropriate and the party must appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal. For example the right of an Employment Judge to strike-out all or part of a claim while sitting alone in a Case Management Discussion would be outside the power of the Employment Judge, and therefore amount to an error of law that the Employment Appeal Tribunal could reverse.

Parties are expected to comply with strictly enforced time limits when applying for a review or appeal. The time limit for a Review application is within 14 days of the Judgment being issued, with a discretion to extend the time limit on a just and equitable basis.

For an appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal against a Judgment (but not an Interim Order), a valid Notice of Appeal must be lodged at the relevant office of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (London or Edinburgh) by 4 pm on the 42nd day after the Employment Tribunal issued its written reasons for the Judgment. This time limit is strictly enforced and appeals are often rejected due to the time limit being missed or an incomplete Notice of Appeal being lodged (for example, if one page of the Judgment is missing, the Notice of Appeal is invalid). An interim Tribunal order must be appealed within 14 days, and reasons must be provided (which may need to be asked for at the original hearing).