We are seeing an increase in employers missing important deadlines for filing defences in Employment Tribunal cases - often due to overlooked emails and missing paperwork. In today’s fast-paced work environment, these small errors can lead to serious consequences, including an automatic loss of the case or a judgment against your business. More and more clients are missing deadlines or are only getting around to reviewing the paperwork when there is a short time frame to submit a defence, sometimes only a few days!

One major factor in the missed deadlines that we are seeing more regularly is that the paperwork was never received. This can be down to working-from-home arrangements and the fact that most businesses now receive very little old-fashioned correspondence in the mail. A recent, very interesting Panorama documentary has been looking at the pros and cons of working from home versus the office, which is well worth a watch and could be one of a variety of reasons for missing the Tribunal paperwork.

Key Takeaways to avoid missing ET deadlines:

• Double-check your email and document management: Missing communications can have major legal implications. Tribunal documents are sometimes sent by the old-fashioned snail mail and businesses should have systems in place to check post if they are away from the office/registered address, or if their registered address is not their normal place of business.
• Set up reminder systems: Use calendars, task managers, or even legal software to keep track of crucial dates. Log the dates on your system as soon as you receive these.
• Seek legal advice early: Prevent last-minute surprises and ensure your defence is filed on time.

If you’re facing an Employment Tribunal case, the clock is ticking - don’t let a missed email or misplaced paperwork put your business at risk. If you receive a claim against your business at the Employment Tribunal you will normally have 28 days to respond to that claim.

Hopefully, your business has never had to deal with Employment Tribunal proceedings against you. However, the statistics tell us that it may only be a matter of time. Over the last few years claim numbers have gone up on average by 17% each year. The changes the Labour government has promised over the next 18 months will do little to ease the pressure on businesses with more legislation to grapple with and more rights for employees.

Stay proactive, stay organized, and protect your business from avoidable legal pitfalls.