Employment Tribunal Basics

Before you can submit a claim to the Employment Tribunal, you must first notify Acas and go through Early Conciliation (EC). This is a mandatory step introduced in 2014. You notify Acas online or by phone, and they will contact your employer to explore whether the dispute can be resolved without a tribunal hearing.

Key points about Early Conciliation:

• It is free and confidential
• It stops the clock on the three-month time limit while EC is ongoing
• You cannot be compelled to agree to anything — it is entirely voluntary
• If EC succeeds, a legally binding settlement is recorded on a COT3 form
• If EC fails, Acas issues an EC certificate which you must reference in your tribunal claim form
• EC typically takes up to six weeks, though it can be concluded sooner

Statistics show that around 70% of cases notified to Acas are resolved or withdrawn without proceeding to the tribunal. EC is worth engaging with genuinely.

If Early Conciliation fails, you submit your claim to the Employment Tribunal using form ET1, available on the GOV.UK website. You must submit within the time remaining after the EC certificate is issued (you have at least one month from the EC certificate date, or the remainder of the original three-month period, whichever is longer).

The ET1 form asks for:

• Your personal details and your employer's details
• Your Acas EC certificate number
• The type of claim (e.g. unfair dismissal, unlawful deduction from wages, discrimination)
• A summary of the facts supporting your claim
• The remedy you are seeking

Be accurate and thorough in the ET1 — you will generally be restricted to the facts you set out here. Once submitted, the tribunal will send a copy to your employer (the respondent), who has 28 days to submit a response (ET3 form).

After both parties have submitted their forms, the tribunal will manage the case. This may involve:

• Preliminary hearings: To resolve jurisdictional issues (e.g. whether the claim was submitted in time), clarify the issues in dispute, or give case management directions
• Exchange of documents: Both parties must disclose relevant documents (such as contracts, emails, disciplinary records) to each other before the final hearing
• Witness statements: Both parties prepare written witness statements (usually exchanged simultaneously before the hearing)
• Schedule of loss: The claimant prepares a document quantifying their financial losses

If you are representing yourself (a "litigant in person"), the tribunal will make reasonable adjustments to assist you. However, you are expected to follow the tribunal's directions and timetable.

The final hearing is usually conducted in a public hearing room. It is normally heard by an Employment Judge sitting alone (for most claims) or with two lay members with employer and employee experience (for more complex discrimination or whistleblowing cases).

At the hearing:

• Each party (or their representative) presents their case and calls witnesses
• Witnesses give evidence on oath and are cross-examined
• Each side makes legal submissions
• The panel then deliberates — sometimes delivering a judgment on the day, sometimes in writing later

If you win, the tribunal can award:

• Compensation for financial loss (subject to caps depending on the type of claim)
• Reinstatement or re-engagement (rare)
• Recommendations in discrimination cases
• An uplift or reduction in compensation if either party unreasonably failed to follow the Acas Code

Costs are rarely awarded in the Employment Tribunal — unlike civil courts, each party usually bears their own costs regardless of outcome.