National user group meetings

Membership of the national user group is drawn from those who speak for a particular constituency or have a wide reach among those who use the system, each of which nominates one or more representatives to attend. Members include the Law Society of England and Wales, the Employment Lawyers’ Association, the Employment Law Bar Association, the Discrimination Law Association, the Free Representation Unit, Advocate (formerly the Bar Pro Bono Unit), Citizens Advice, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the Trades Union Congress, and the Confederation of British Industry. The group’s meetings are also attended by ACAS and representatives of the Ministry of Justice, the Department for Business and Trade, and HM Courts and Tribunals Service, each of which is invited, through their nominated representative, to present an oral report.

Individual users may submit items for consideration at one of the group’s meetings by sending an email to etpresidentsupportoffice@judiciary.uk. Whether they will be the subject of discussion will depend upon the topic and the available time. Where those concerns relate to matters of government policy (such as the powers of Employment Tribunals and the matters upon which they adjudicate), they will be forwarded to the government department with “ownership” of employment law policy, which is the Department for Business and Trade.

The national user group is a forum for the discussion of matters of policy (whether judicial, governmental or administrative), not individuals claims or responses, and not cases where users are dissatisfied with the outcome.

Each of the ten individual regions of the Employment Tribunals (England and Wales) also holds regional user group meetings. Details are available from etpresidentsupportoffice@judiciary.uk.

Links to minutes of each meeting of the national user group held since 2017 are below. For copies of minutes of previous meetings, please email etpresidentsupportoffice@judiciary.uk.