Can I Appeal an Employment Tribunal Decision for an Unfair Dismissal Claim?

If your employment tribunal claim for unfair dismissal is unsuccessful, your solicitor will be able to advise you as to whether your case should be reconsidered and whether you have grounds for appeal.

In an employment tribunal appeal, you may only appeal on a point of law. This means that the law was applied to your case wrongly. For example:

• The wrong legal test was applied to your case. This is where the tribunal has misunderstood the legislation or case law relevant to your case. For example if the tribunal finds you ‘guilty of gross misconduct’ and so determines the dismissal to be unfair, this could be a ground for appeal. The tribunal’s role is to rule on the fairness of the dismissal, not on the employees conduct.

• There was not adequate reason to make the decision – both parties must be made aware of why they have won or lost the case.

• There was no or insufficient evidence to support the case of the other side. If the tribunal makes a finding of fact for which there is no supporting evidence, this could be challenged in an appeal.

• The decision was “perverse” – meaning that no reasonable tribunal could have made the decision.

• There was bias or apparent bias surrounding the tribunal.

You normally cannot challenge a decision simply because you are dissatisfied with the outcome and thus it is uncommon for tribunal decisions to be appealed. Of the cases that are appealed, only a small number are actually changed.

If you do wish to make an appeal or are unhappy with the decision and think you may have grounds for an appeal, you should speak with a solicitor. Specialist employment solicitors will have great knowledge of the appeals process and the likelihood of an appeal being upheld. In order to make an appeal, you will require full written reasons for the decision the tribunal made. If your judgement was not given to you in person, you will be able to ask for the full written reasons to be sent to you at the time. If your judgement was posted to you and the full written reasons were not attached to the decision, you must ensure you ask for these within 14 days. Your appeal must be made within 42 days (six weeks) of the date the written reasons are sent out to you. You require the written reasons to make the appeal.

Employment Lawyers Edinburgh

Whether you are an employee or an employer in need of advice in relation to unfair dismissal or any other employment law issue in Edinburgh, Scotland, Employment Law Edinburgh's team of specialist Employment solicitors can help. To get in touch, you can either call us on 0131 516 7728 or complete our enquiry form.