1. Understanding the Employment Tribunal
The Employment Tribunal is a specialist court that adjudicates disputes between employers and employees regarding employment rights. It's less formal than a civil court but still follows strict legal rules and procedures.
Claims often involve unfair dismissal, discrimination, whistleblowing detriment, unlawful deduction from wages, or breach of contract. The ET's role is to provide a forum where your legal rights at work can be impartially assessed.
2. The Key Stages: A Timeline
The Incident
The event (e.g., dismissal, act of discrimination) that triggers your claim.
Clock Starts
The 3-month (minus 1 day) time limit begins from the date of the incident.
ACAS Early Conciliation
You must contact ACAS before submitting a claim. This pauses the time limit.
ACAS Certificate Issued
Conciliation ends and the clock restarts. You receive a unique certificate number you need for the ET1.
Submit ET1 Claim Form
You formally lodge your claim with the Tribunal.
Employer Submits ET3 Response
The employer provides their formal defence within 28 days.
Preliminary Hearing
A judge sets a timetable ("Directions") for the case and clarifies the issues.
Disclosure of Documents
Both sides exchange all relevant evidence — emails, notes, policies, everything.
Bundle Preparation
A single, indexed set of all documents is created and agreed by both sides.
Witness Statements Exchanged
Both sides submit their written evidence simultaneously.
Final Hearing
The case is heard by a judge (and sometimes lay members for discrimination cases).
Judgment
The Tribunal gives its decision, either on the day or in writing afterwards.
3. Time Limits — The Most Critical Rule
Most claims must be submitted within 3 months minus 1 day of the incident.
- Unfair dismissal: Runs from the Effective Date of Termination (EDT) — the last day of your employment.
- Discrimination: Runs from the date of the last act of discrimination you are complaining about.
- Unlawful deduction of wages: Runs from the date of the last deduction in a series.
The 'Continuing Act' Doctrine
Where discrimination or harassment is not a single event but a series of related incidents over time, it may be considered a 'continuing act'. The 3-month time limit then runs from the date of the very last event in the sequence, bringing all earlier incidents within scope.
4. ACAS Early Conciliation
Before submitting a claim, you must contact ACAS for Early Conciliation (EC). This is a compulsory first step for most tribunal claims.
- Stopping the Clock: The day you submit your EC form, the time limit pauses. It restarts when ACAS issues your EC certificate.
- The Certificate: Contains a unique reference number that is mandatory for your ET1 form. Without it, your claim will be rejected.
- The Process: An ACAS officer contacts both sides and passes messages between you for up to 6 weeks. They cannot take sides or give legal advice.
- Be cautious: An employer may use conciliation as a "fishing expedition" to assess the strength of your case. You are not obligated to engage in lengthy discussions if the employer is not being serious.
5. The ET1 Claim Form
This is the form you use to formally submit your claim. It is your first and most important opportunity to set out your case.
What it must include:
- A concise summary of the issues and a clear chronology of events
- The legal basis for your claim (e.g., "direct race discrimination under the Equality Act 2010, s.13")
- The remedies you are seeking (e.g., compensation, reinstatement)
- Your ACAS Early Conciliation Certificate Number
6. Evidence, Disclosure and the Bundle
- Disclosure: Both you and your employer have a legal duty to disclose all relevant documents, whether they help your case or not. This includes emails, meeting notes, grievance outcomes, contracts, and private messages if relevant.
- The Bundle: A shared set of documents both sides will rely on at the final hearing. It should have a chronological index and page numbers for easy reference.
- Witness Statements: Written in the first person ("I saw," "He said to me"). Must align with your ET1 and reference the bundle page numbers.
Schedule of Loss
This is your detailed calculation of the compensation you are claiming. It must be sent to the employer and the Tribunal before the final hearing. Include:
- Loss of Earnings: Net weekly pay × weeks out of work. Show you have tried to find alternative work ("mitigating your loss").
- Future Loss of Earnings: If still unemployed or in a lower-paid job.
- Injury to Feelings (discrimination claims): Based on the Vento Bands — lower, middle, and upper bands for severity of harm.
- Interest: You can claim interest on past losses.
7. Settlement and Compensation
Without Prejudice (WP)
A legal protection that creates a safe space for negotiation. Communications marked "Without Prejudice" cannot be shown to a tribunal judge as evidence. Allows both sides to make offers freely without weakening their formal case.
Protected Conversation (s.111A Employment Rights Act 1996)
An off-the-record conversation an employer can initiate to discuss ending employment on agreed terms. Can take place before a formal dispute exists. Protection is lost if the employer acts improperly or places undue pressure on you. Does not apply to discrimination, harassment, or whistleblowing claims.
COT3 Agreement
A legally binding settlement agreement arranged via ACAS. Once signed, you cannot pursue the same claims in the tribunal.
Settlement Agreement
A privately reached settlement. For it to be legally valid, you must receive independent legal advice from a qualified solicitor or union official. Your employer is required to pay for the cost of this advice.
8. What to Expect at the Final Hearing
- Who is in the room: The Judge (addressed as "Judge" or "Sir/Ma'am"), lay members (for discrimination cases), the claimant, the respondent, and witnesses for both sides.
- Cross-examination: The employer's representative will question you on your statement. Answer truthfully and calmly. Stick to the facts. Do not argue.
- Submissions: Both sides give a closing speech summarising their case and why they should win.
- Etiquette: Dress smartly. Be polite to everyone. Stand when the judge enters or leaves. Bring your own copy of the bundle.
9. Key Legal Tests for Discrimination Claims
The Shifting Burden of Proof
- Stage 1 — You: Prove facts from which the tribunal could conclude that discrimination has occurred (a "prima facie" case).
- Stage 2 — The Employer: The burden shifts. They must prove there was a non-discriminatory explanation. If they cannot, the tribunal will find in your favour.
Direct Discrimination (Equality Act 2010, s.13)
You were treated less favourably because of a protected characteristic. You need a comparator — someone in materially similar circumstances but without your protected characteristic.
Indirect Discrimination
An employer applies a provision, criterion or practice (PCP) that is neutral on its face but puts people with your characteristic at a particular disadvantage.
Harassment (Equality Act 2010, s.26)
Unwanted conduct related to a protected characteristic that violates your dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment. Can be a single serious incident or a pattern of behaviour.
Victimisation (Equality Act 2010, s.27)
Treated badly because you did a "protected act" — such as raising a grievance about discrimination, supporting someone else's claim, or making a whistleblowing disclosure.