Tribunal time limit diary for employment solicitors

A missed employment tribunal time limit is a claim against the firm, and entering each date in the diary by hand is easy to forget under pressure. If you open 20 matters a month and diarising the limits and checks takes 8 minutes, that's 160 minutes, 2.7 hours a month.

Each time limit is recorded first in the firm's case management system or limitation diary, where the fee earner calculates it and a second solicitor checks it. The Google Sheet and Google Calendar entry are a backup reminder layer, not the record. A two-step Zapier automation turns each new row into a calendar event, and notifications remind the team. The software does not calculate or check the date.

A six-person employment firm in Birmingham opens about 20 matters a month. The fee earner records the calculated time limit in the firm's case management diary, where a second solicitor checks it. The fee earner then adds a row to a shared sheet, ticking a column to show the diary entry and check are done, and a Zap creates a backup calendar entry.

The value isn't monetary: a more reliable diary and a backup prompt for tribunal time limits, not time saved. About 1.7 hours a month saved (5 minutes x 20 matters = 100 minutes) is worth around £50 if staff time is worth £30 an hour, but that is not priced here.

1. 1Record every time limit first in your case management system or limitation diary, with the second-solicitor check done there.
2. 2Create a Google Sheet with columns for matter number, the dates and a column recording that the primary diary entry and its second-solicitor check are done.
3. 3Agree in writing who calculates a date and who checks it. The sheet does neither.
4. 4In Zapier, create an automation that starts when a new row is added to the sheet.
5. 5Add one action: create a Google Calendar event on a shared calendar from the row.
6. 6Test with a dummy row and check that the right date appears with notifications on.

• Never rely on this alone for a time limit; the primary diary entry and the human check must exist first.
• Zapier can fail without telling you. Compare the sheet, the calendar and the primary diary every week.
• Zapier's Free plan allows only two-step Zaps and 100 tasks a month. More steps need Pro: $19.99 (about £15) a month billed annually, or $29.99 (about £22) monthly.
• Use matter numbers, not client names, in the calendar. Calendars are often shared and visible to more people.