UK Act of Parliament 1996 United Kingdom

Employment Tribunals Act 1996

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At a glance

Enforced by

HMCTS

What's here

18 compliance obligations, 3 practical guides · 3 journeys

Penalty landscape

6 of 18 obligations carry an unlimited fine. 2 carry different penalties and 10 have no criminal penalty — flagged in the list below.

Who this Act binds

Business-side actors with duties under this Act, ranked by how often they appear.

  • Any Person 5
  • Employer 3

Plus 10 non-business duties on Crown ministers, regulators, local authorities or tribunals — shown collapsed under each section below.

Step-by-step journeys using this legislation

Walkthroughs that take you from a real business situation to compliance.

Relevant guidance

Practical guides for businesses affected by this Act, ordered by how closely they engage with it.

Supporting — topic alignment

3 guides

Other Acts binding the same actors

For each actor bound by this Act, the other UK Acts that bind them most often. Useful for understanding the full compliance landscape facing each role.

Any Person also bound by 2338 other Acts (top 5 shown)
Employers also bound by 694 other Acts (top 5 shown)

What this Act requires

Sections that create concrete duties on businesses or carry penalties. Procedural and definitional sections are folded into the “Browse other sections” expander at the bottom of each group. Click any section title to read the source text on legislation.gov.uk.

Part I — Employment Tribunals

s.005

Oaths

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Presidents and tribunal members must take judicial oaths Tribunal / Court
s.008

Procedure in contract cases.

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Tribunal must order payment of sums found due in contract claims Tribunal / Court
s.010

Restriction of publicity in cases involving national security.

Unlimited fine
  • Publish prohibited witness details or secret tribunal reasons Any Person
s.012

Financial penalties

Fine up to £20,000
  • Breach employment rights with aggravating features Employer
s.018

Conciliation after institution of proceedings

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • ACAS conciliation officers must attempt to settle tribunal claims Statutory regulator
s.019

Conciliation procedure.

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Tribunal must notify parties of conciliation services Tribunal / Court
Browse 25 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
s.003

Meaning of “Employment Judge”

s.005

Training etc.

s.005

Members of employment tribunals: removal from office

s.005

Judicial assistance

s.007

Practice directions

s.007

Mediation

s.010

Confidential information.

s.013

Payments in respect of preparation time

s.018

Requirement to contact ACAS before instituting proceedings

s.018

Conciliation before institution of proceedings: other ACAS duties

s.019

Conciliation: recovery of sums payable under settlements

Part 2A — Financial penalties for failure to pay sums ordered to be paid or settlement sums

s.037

Warning notice

  • Failure to pay employment tribunal award or settlement sum Employer
s.037

Penalty notice

Unlimited fine
  • Failure to pay employment tribunal award or settlement Employer
Browse 15 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
s.037

Sums to which financial penalty can relate

s.037

Financial award: unpaid amount

s.037

Settlement sum: unpaid amount

s.037

Unpaid amount of relevant sum: further provision

s.037

Appeal against penalty notice

s.037

Interest and recovery

s.037

Withdrawal of warning notice

s.037

Withdrawal of penalty notice

s.037

Replacement penalty notice

s.037

Effect of replacement penalty notice

s.037

Enforcement officers

s.037

Power to amend Part 2A

s.037

Modification in particular cases

s.037

Giving of notices

s.037

Financial penalties for non-payment: interpretation

Part II — The Employment Appeal Tribunal

s.022

Membership of Appeal Tribunal.

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Crown and Judiciary must ensure Employment Appeal Tribunal is properly staffed Crown / Minister / Government department
s.024

Oaths

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Specified tribunal members must take oaths of office Tribunal / Court
s.027

Remuneration, pensions and allowances.

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Lord Chancellor must pay remuneration and pensions to tribunal members Crown / Minister / Government department
s.030

Appeal Tribunal procedure rules.

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Lord Chancellor must establish procedural rules for the Employment Appeal Tribunal Crown / Minister / Government department
s.036

Enforcement of decisions etc.

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Judicial consent required for Tribunal contempt or fine remission Tribunal / Court
Browse 17 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
s.024

Training etc. of members of Appeal Tribunal

s.029

Practice directions

s.037

Appeals to Supreme Court: grant of certificate by Appeal Tribunal

s.037

Appeals to Supreme Court: permission to appeal

s.037

Appeals to Supreme Court: exclusions

Part III — General and Supplementary

Browse 13 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
s.037

Procedure Rules

s.037

Power to amend legislation in connection with Procedure Rules

Schedules

Browse 48 other Schedules — structural / supplementary
s.sch001

Section 135(4)(b) of the Transport Act 1968 shall continue to...

s.sch001

(1) The Judicial Pensions and Retirement Act 1993 is amended...

s.sch001

In section 181(1) of the Pension Schemes Act 1993, in...

s.sch001

(1) The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 is amended as follows....

s.sch001

Section 2 of the Transport Holding Company Act 1972 shall...

s.sch001

In section 75(5)(c) of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, for...

s.sch001

(1) The Race Relations Act 1976 is amended as follows....

s.sch001

In the Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act 1977—

s.sch001

In section 12(1) of the Judicial Pensions Act 1981, for...

s.sch001

In section 58(4) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992,...

s.sch001

In section 288 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations...

s.sch001

(1) The Tribunals and Inquiries Act 1992 is amended as...

s.sch002

The substitution of this Act for the provisions repealed or...

s.sch002

(1) If Part XI of the Reserve Forces Act 1996...

s.sch002

Anything done, or having effect as done, (including the making...

s.sch002

Any reference (express or implied) in this Act or any...

s.sch002

(1) Any reference (express or implied) in any enactment, or...

s.sch002

Paragraphs 1 to 4 have effect in place of section...

s.sch002

The repeal by this Act of section 130 of, and...

s.sch002

(1) If paragraph 2 of Schedule 2 to the Jobseekers...

s.sch002

(1) If section 31 of the Trade Union Reform and...

s.sch003

Schedule 3 para.1

s.sch003

The following abbreviations are used in the Table— EP(C)A =...

s.schedule a1 para.1

(1) The Tribunal Procedure Committee must exercise its power to...

s.schedule a1 para.10

Intervention by Secretary of State

s.schedule a1 para.11

Evidence, witnesses and attendance

s.schedule a1 para.12

Use of information

s.schedule a1 para.13

Set-off

s.schedule a1 para.14

Reconsideration or review of decisions

s.schedule a1 para.15

Correction of errors and setting aside of decisions on procedural grounds

s.schedule a1 para.16

Registration and proof of decisions

s.schedule a1 para.17

Ancillary powers

s.schedule a1 para.18

Rules may refer to practice directions

s.schedule a1 para.19

Presumptions

s.schedule a1 para.2

Delegation of functions to staff

s.schedule a1 para.20

Differential provision

s.schedule a1 para.21

Procedure for making Procedure Rules

s.schedule a1 para.22

Interpretation

s.schedule a1 para.3

Time limits

s.schedule a1 para.4

Determining where to start proceedings

s.schedule a1 para.5

Repeat applications

s.schedule a1 para.6

Tribunal acting of its own initiative

s.schedule a1 para.7

Hearings

s.schedule a1 para.8

Proceedings without notice

s.schedule a1 para.9

Representation

Other sections — not classified into a Part

These sections sit outside the numbered Parts — usually provisions added or moved by later amendments.

Browse 1 other section
s.procedure rules

Procedure Rules

Read the full Act on legislation.gov.uk (opens in a new tab)

Official guidance

Authoritative sources published by regulators or government explaining this legislation.

Enforcement and responsible bodies

The regulators that administer or enforce this legislation.

HMCTS

HM Courts & Tribunals Service

Executive agency responsible for the administration of criminal, civil, and family courts and tribunals in England and Wales. Publishes court forms, fees, …

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