Industrial Tribunals

Online Services

Online services allows you to make a claim or respond to a claim to the Industrial Tribunals and/or The Fair Employment Tribunal for Northern Ireland. You must register with the site in order to use these services.
A claim form, ET1(NI), is also available in PDF for downloading - see Publications.
This page also provides information on the weekly hearing schedule of the Industrial Tribunals and The Fair Employment Tribunal and the main decisions of these tribunals which have been issued since January 2007.

Making a Claim

Before going on-line to make a claim you may find it helpful to consider the following information which is available on this website:

Before making a claim
Information required for a claim
Statutory dispute resolution procedures
Getting help with the claim
Representation
Receipt of the claim
Further correspondance
Withdrawal of a claim

Responding to a Claim

Before going on-line to respond to a claim in which you have been named as a respondent, you may find it helpful to consider the following information which is available on this website:

Notice of the claim
Responding to the claim
What if I cannot make the deadline for a response?
What will happen if I do not send in my response or if the tribunal does not accept it?
Taking no further part in proceedings
Representation

Industrial Tribunals

Industrial Tribunals are independent judicial bodies that hear and determine claims to do with employment matters. These include a range of claims relating to unfair dismissal, breach of contract, wages/other payments, as well as discrimination on the grounds of sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, age, part time working or equal pay. For a list of the main matters which an Industrial Tribunal can consider please refer to the jurisdictions list available below (this is not an exhaustive list).

Download: Jurisdiction List (Microsoft Word document - 97kb)

To view the above document you may need .
Microsoft Word Viewer

The statutory regulations governing industrial tribunal proceedings in Northern Ireland are the Industrial Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 (as amended). These Rules and subsequent amendments can be found under the heading "Legislation".

Jurisdiction of an industrial tribunal
Article 85 of the Fair Employment and Treatment
(Northern Ireland) Order 1998

The jurisdiction of an industrial tribunal to hear and determine complaints is subject to Article 85 of the Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998.

Where a complaint has been made to the Fair Employment Tribunal of unlawful discrimination on the grounds of religious belief or political opinion and it appears that this complaint is one in respect of which:

•a complaint could be made to an industrial tribunal under any other statutory provision; or

•a complaint has been made to an industrial tribunal which has not been disposed of;

then the President or Vice President may direct that these matters shall be heard by the Fair Employment Tribunal and not by an industrial tribunal. For these purposes the Fair Employment Tribunal has the jurisdiction and powers of an industrial tribunal. Before such a direction is made however, a notice will be sent to those concerned, giving them an opportunity to show cause why such a direction should not be made.

Industrial Tribunals sit mainly in Belfast but in certain circumstances may use other centres throughout Northern Ireland.