A tribunal works in the manner of a court but is a little less formal. No wigs are worn and the tribunal head formerly known as a 'chairman'is now known as an employment judge. He is helped by two other people sitting one on either side of him ('wing members'). When coming to a decision in a case the judge and the members each have one vote.
As is the case with the Small Claims Court Employment Tribunals (In the past called Industrial Tribunals) were originally intended to be the 'small man's' court, a place where people with no knowledge of the law would be able to come and have their case heard and dealt with quickly.
If that ever was the case it definitely is not so nowadays. Employment tribunals are legalistic with employers usually being represented by lawyers and barristers. The process is long and drawn out with mountains of documents and sundry paperwork generated in the process (those represented are spared much of this).
Despite the employment tribunal not being a place for those ignorant of the law and all the hurdles involved, determined workers do sometimes manage to win their cases when representing themselves.
To succeed without a representative you will need to regard your case as a project or a hobby that is going to last up to six months, or sometimes even more.
You will need to be highly organised, be prepared to read up the relevant law, contact witnesses, take statements, write your own 'witness statement' and pay attention to detail.
In the news section of the WorkRep website we regularly post updates of major areas of employment law. The articles are meant to extract from the relevant law the essentials for workers running their cases and will often clarify legal terms used where necessary. You should refer to the relevant news section when planning your case as the law changes frequently.