Employment Tribunal Litigant in Person Support scheme (ELIPS) can give you free advice if your case is being heard at one of the below Employment Tribunals:
- London Central
- Bristol
- Cardiff
- Midlands West
- Newcastle
- Leeds
- Manchester
And you have either a hearing, a case management order, or judicial mediation within 2 weeks of the clinic date (e.g. for the clinic on 3 October 2024, only those with hearings or case management order on or before 17th October will be eligible).
If you meet the criteria above, please email the Pro Bono Administrator at elips@elaweb.org.uk two weeks before the date of the clinic. They are not able to help everyone but if there are spaces available, you will be contacted. Prepare for your hearing by reading our advice on employment tribunal preparation. Don’t send any documents until you have been asked for them but have them with you if you are offered an appointment.
ELIPS volunteers provide support in the form of one-off advice on the day of the clinic. They are not able to provide longer term help.
Support Through Court do not provide advice but offer practical help to people taking a case to an employment tribunal. They aim to help you represent yourself more confidently by providing practical advice, information and emotional support. Support Through Court volunteers can help you fill in forms, organise your papers and your thoughts, and refer you to organisations who can give you legal advice or representation. They have a national helpline staffed by volunteers. The helpline is free, confidential and independent from the court. Call 0300 081 0006 open 10.30-3.30pm Monday to Friday.
Advocate may be able to help find you a barrister who can provide you with free advice or representation at a tribunal hearing anywhere in England and Wales. You can apply for help if you are not eligible for legal aid and don't have enough money to pay for legal help.
You can apply directly online using their form and uploading your documents with it. You need to send a completed application form at least three weeks before the hearing or deadline for the piece of work you want help with. Should you find it easier you can also fill out a paper application form which you can print from their website or email enquiries@weareadvocate.org.uk to ask for one.
Advocate provide help for one piece of work at a time, for example, you could be approved for some free legal advice, and then maybe some free representation depending on the outcome of the advice. Find out more about how it works and find the online form. Once you have submitted your application, it is assessed by the casework team to make sure there is enough information about your case to decide if you are eligible for free help. The team may ask you for more documents or information if the form is not complete. Once the casework team is satisfied that they have enough information, your application will be sent to a senior reviewer to decide if your case fits the financial and legal merits. If the reviewer decides you are eligible and the work will take three days or less, the Advocate team will start looking for a barrister to help you. Because they rely on volunteers, they cannot guarantee to find someone, but they will do their best. If they can't find someone, they will let you know before your hearing.
Advocate finds barristers to help you with a particular task in your case. They cannot find someone to take a whole case for free. So, if your application is successful, you will receive help for that specific task. After that, if you need further help you can apply again, providing at least three weeks' notice.
YESS are an employment law charity who can help you to agree a settlement with your employer or represent you in judicial mediation (they don’t do employment tribunal hearings and can’t help you prepare documents or comply with case management orders). YESS offer a free initial 20 minutes of advice and then agree a fee depending your income (people on a low income pay less than those on higher incomes). You can pay an affordable hourly rate or a fixed amount for the whole piece of work. Where they can, they try to get your employer to pay for your legal advice. If you live or work in Greater London they can sometimes assist for free.
Free Representation Unit can provide representation at an employment tribunal if your hearing will be heard in London, the South East of England or Nottingham and if you are referred to them by another agency. Check their website for more details on who can refer to them.
I am presently on a 4 day a week contract with my employer. I have now been given an ultimatum to work 5 days a week or be made to accept redundancy.
I have 2 questions: Firstly, is this legitimate? And secondly, if it is legitimate, have I the right to ask for an increased redundancy package under constructive dismissal?