The Employment Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) Regulations 2004

RESPONSE

Responding to the claim

4.—(1) If the respondent wishes to respond to the claim made against him he must present his response to the Employment Tribunal Office within 28 days of the date on which he was sent a copy of the claim. The response must include all the relevant required information. The time limit for the respondent to present his response may be extended in accordance with paragraph (4).

(2) Unless it is a response in proceedings described in regulation 14(3), any response presented on or after 6 April 2005 must be on a response form prescribed by the Secretary of State pursuant to regulation 14.

(3) The required information in relation to the response is —

(a) the respondent’s full name;

(b) the respondent’s address;

(c) whether or not the respondent wishes to resist the claim in whole or in part; and

(d) if the respondent wishes to so resist, on what grounds.

(4) The respondent may apply under rule 11 for an extension of the time limit within which he is to present his response. The application must be presented to the Employment Tribunal Office within 28 days of the date on which the respondent was sent a copy of the claim (unless the application is made under rule 33(1)) and must explain why the respondent cannot comply with the time limit. Subject to rule 33, the chairman shall only extend the time within which a response may be presented if he is satisfied that it is just and equitable to do so.

(5) A single document may include the response to more than one claim if the relief claimed arises out of the same set of facts, provided that in respect of each of the claims to which the single response relates —

(a) the respondent intends to resist all the claims and the grounds for doing so are the same in relation to each claim; or

(b) the respondent does not intend to resist any of the claims.

(6) A single document may include the response of more than one respondent to a single claim provided that —

(a) each respondent intends to resist the claim and the grounds for doing so are the same for each respondent; or

(b) none of the respondents intends to resist the claim.