National user group

Membership of the national user group is drawn from those organisations which speak for a particular constituency, or which otherwise have a wide reach among those who use the Employment Tribunals. Each such organisation nominates one or more representatives to attend. The national user group meets two or three times a year. Meetings are chaired by the President.

Members include the Law Society of England and Wales, the Law Society of Scotland, the Employment Lawyers’ Association, the Employment Law Bar Association, the Discrimination Law Association, the Free Representation Unit, Advocate (formerly the Bar Pro Bono Unit), LawWorks (the Solicitors Pro Bono Group), Citizens Advice, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the Law Centres Network, Protect (formerly Public Concern at Work), LexisNexis, Thomson Reuters/Practical Law, the Trades Union Congress, the Confederation of British Industry, the Equality Advisory & Support Service, and the Insolvency Service. 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 individual region of the Employment Tribunals is led, for judicial purposes, by a Regional Employment Judge. Regional Employment Judges may also attend the national user group meetings to provide regional reports. Additionally, they may arrange separate 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.