Employment Tribunal Online Claim Submission Service Crashes

HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) have announced that they are experiencing technical difficulties with the online submission service used for filing claims in the employment tribunal.

The fault has made it impossible to submit an employment claim online.

The HCMTS are working hard to rectify the matter, but it is not yet known when the issues will be fixed.

On the 8th of September, 2023, Judge Barry Clarke, the President of Employment Tribunals (England and Wales), issued guidance on the problems.

He admitted to being unsure of when the issues would be fixed, and, in the meantime, he therefore set out the alternative ways that employment claims may be filed.

In his guidance note, Judge Barry Clarke recommended that the following steps should be taken by any claimant approaching the expiry of a limitation period for presenting a claim to the employment tribunal:

• Take a screenshot of the error message generated by the online submission service (showing its time) and;
• A printed copy of the screenshot should accompany the posted or hand-delivered ET1, alongside any other evidence that may demonstrate when a party attempted unsuccessfully to present a claim.

Please note that this is only necessary where a claimant considers that there is a risk of missing the deadline for presenting a claim.

This serves as a useful reminder to claimants to ensure that they are well aware of any limitation periods that may be applicable to their claim and that the claim is submitted in ample time.