As you may know, HMCTS has been experiencing technical difficulties with the ET1 online submission service since Wednesday afternoon.
Currently, the only two ways to submit an ET1 are by post or by hand to the tribunal.
Judge Barry Clarke, President of the Employment Tribunals (England & Wales), has offered the following guidance for those approaching the end of their limitation period:
"Recognising the difficulties that the technical fault may cause to those approaching the expiry of a limitation period for presentation of a claim, the following recommendation is made: a screenshot should be taken of the error message generated by the online submission service (showing its time) and a printed copy should accompany the posted or hand-delivered ET1, alongside any other evidence that may demonstrate when a party attempted unsuccessfully to present a claim. This is only necessary where a party considers there is a risk of missing the deadline for presenting a claim. Without intending in any way to impinge upon judicial independence, the tribunal’s judiciary and the parties and their representatives are reminded of the importance of giving effect to the overriding objective of the Employment Tribunals Rules of Procedure, which is to enable cases to be dealt with fairly and justly."
For more detailed information, I recommend reading the full letter from Judge Barry Clarke, President Employment Tribunals (England & Wales) here.
Judge Walker, President Employment Tribunals (Scotland) has sent out a similar communication to practitioners in Scotland.
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