Employment Tribunal

What Is an Employment Tribunal?

An employment tribunal is an independent judicial body that resolves disputes between employees and employers over workplace rights. When internal processes and external conciliation have failed to resolve a disagreement, the tribunal provides a legal setting where your case can be heard and decided.

Employment tribunals were established in the UK in 1964, originally under the name Industrial Tribunals (the name still used in Northern Ireland). They handle the vast majority of employment law claims in England, Scotland and Wales, with some cases falling under the jurisdiction of the civil courts instead.

The tribunal system is currently under significant pressure. At the end of September 2025, there were over 515,000 open claims across single and multiple cases, according to statistics published by His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS). That represents a 33% increase on the same period the previous year. Some regions are now listing final hearings years in advance, and the backlog is expected to grow further once the Employment Rights Act 2025 reforms take full effect.

“The tribunal system is busier than we’ve ever seen it. That’s precisely why getting expert legal advice early matters so much. Preparing your case properly from the outset, and understanding the process, gives you the best chance of a successful outcome.”

Tom Street Principal Solicitor, Tom Street & Co.

What Types of Claims Can Be Heard?

Employment Tribunal Claims

Employment tribunals hear a wide range of workplace disputes. Based on the most recent HMCTS statistics (July to September 2025), the most common claim types are:

• Unfair dismissal: accounting for 23.7% of all new claims, making it the single most common type of tribunal case
• Discrimination: including disability discrimination (14.8% of claims), sex discrimination, race discrimination, age discrimination, gender reassignment, religion or belief, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, harassment and victimisation
• Unlawful deduction of wages: representing 12.2% of claims
• Constructive dismissal: where you resign because of your employer’s conduct
• Redundancy: including failure to consult, unfair selection and non-payment of statutory redundancy pay
• Whistleblowing (public interest disclosure): claims for detriment or dismissal after raising concerns about wrongdoing, which saw a 16% increase in 2025
• Equal pay: claims for pay parity under the Equality Act 2010

A single claim can include multiple complaint types. For instance, you might bring a claim for both unfair dismissal and disability discrimination arising from the same set of facts. The average claim involves two to three different jurisdictional complaints.

Claims Heard in Civil Courts

Some employment-related claims are not heard at the employment tribunal. The civil courts typically handle:

• Wrongful dismissal: breach of contract claims, particularly where the claim value exceeds £25,000 (the tribunal’s contractual jurisdiction limit)
• Contract disputes: complex contractual claims such as disputes over restrictive covenants or bonus entitlements
• Workplace accidents: personal injury claims arising from employer negligence

What to Expect at an Employment Tribunal Hearing

If you’ve never been to a tribunal before, the prospect can feel daunting. In practice, employment tribunals are less formal than you might expect.

Your hearing will typically take place in an office building rather than a traditional courtroom. The tribunal panel usually consists of three people: an employment judge, who is legally qualified, sitting alongside two lay members. One lay member will come from an employer-representative background, and the other from an employee-representative background (such as a trade union). Certain types of case, including straightforward unfair dismissal claims, can be heard by an employment judge sitting alone.

Inside the tribunal room, the judges sit at a raised desk. You won’t see wigs or gowns. You’ll be expected to dress smartly, but business attire is the norm rather than formal court dress. Your evidence will be given under oath or affirmation, and the tribunal expects both parties to conduct themselves properly throughout the hearing.

Hearings can last anywhere from a single day for simpler cases to several weeks for complex discrimination or whistleblowing claims.

Remote and Hybrid Hearings

Since the pandemic, the use of technology in tribunal hearings has become standard practice. The Cloud Video Platform (CVP) is now widely used for conducting hearings remotely, and many preliminary hearings take place entirely by video.

Hybrid hearings are also common, where some participants attend in person while others join by video link. Witnesses, for example, may give evidence remotely even where the main hearing is in person. For certain complex or multi-day final hearings, the tribunal may still require physical attendance.

Be aware that significant delays exist across the tribunal system. Some regions are now listing final hearings two to three years ahead. Preliminary hearings are often scheduled months in advance. These delays make it all the more important to start the claims process promptly and to have your paperwork in order from the outset.

Employment Tribunal Costs: What You Need to Know

Since the Supreme Court declared tribunal fees unlawful in R (Unison) v Lord Chancellor [2017] UKSC 51, you do not have to pay any fees to bring a claim at the employment tribunal. The process is free to access.

That said, if you instruct a solicitor or barrister to represent you, their time and expertise will come at a cost. Employment law is complex, and while you are not required to have legal representation, your chances of success are significantly improved when you do.

How to Fund Legal Representation

There are several ways to fund a solicitor for your tribunal claim:

• No win no fee: if you have a viable case, we may represent you on a no win no fee basis, meaning you only pay a success fee if you win or settle your claim
• Legal Expense Insurance (LEI): check your home insurance, motor insurance or bank account, as many policies include legal expenses cover for employment disputes
• Fixed fee: you agree a set price for the legal work required, giving you certainty about costs
• Conditional fee arrangement: your solicitor’s fees depend, at least in part, on the outcome of your case

Can My Employer Claim Costs Against Me?

One of the biggest fears people have is that they’ll be liable for their employer’s legal costs if they lose. The good news is that, unlike the civil courts, costs orders in the employment tribunal are rare.

Generally, fewer than 1% of employment tribunal cases result in a costs order. The tribunal can only make a costs order in limited circumstances:

• Where a party has brought or conducted proceedings that are vexatious, had no reasonable prospect of success, or were otherwise unreasonable
• Where a party has behaved disruptively or otherwise unreasonably in the way they have conducted the case
• Where a party has failed to comply with a tribunal order or practice direction

A word of caution: your employer’s legal representatives may threaten to apply for costs as a tactic to pressure you into dropping your claim or accepting a low settlement. In most cases, this is exactly that: a tactic. If you have a genuine case with reasonable prospects of success, costs orders are extremely unlikely.

Who Can Bring a Claim? Qualifying Requirements

Whether you can bring a tribunal claim depends on the type of complaint, how long you’ve worked for your employer, and when the event you’re complaining about occurred.

Length of Service

For an ordinary unfair dismissal claim, you currently need at least two years’ continuous service with your employer, as set out in section 108 of the Employment Rights Act 1996.

This is changing. Under the Employment Rights Act 2025, the qualifying period will reduce to six months from 1 January 2027. This change applies to anyone in employment at that date, meaning someone hired from around July 2026 would gain unfair dismissal protection by January 2027.

There are important exceptions where no qualifying period applies at all. You can bring a claim regardless of your length of service if your case involves:

• Automatic unfair dismissal: such as dismissal for whistleblowing, asserting a statutory right, pregnancy or trade union activity
• Discrimination: all forms of workplace discrimination under the Equality Act 2010
• Unlawful deduction of wages: claims for unpaid wages, holiday pay or other payments

For more detail on how length of service affects your claim, see our Length of Service guide.

Time Limits for Making a Claim

Strict time limits apply to employment tribunal claims. For most claim types, including unfair dismissal and discrimination, you must begin the process within three months minus one day from the date of the event you’re complaining about. For dismissal claims, time runs from your effective date of termination.

This time limit is set to increase. Under the Employment Rights Act 2025, most employment tribunal time limits will extend to six months, with this change expected to take effect in October 2026.

Some claim types already carry a six-month time limit:

• Non-payment of statutory redundancy pay (ERA 1996 s.164)
• Equal pay claims (EqA 2010 s.129)
• Unlawful exclusion from a trade union
• Unfair dismissal for participating in lawful industrial action

The clock pauses while you’re going through Acas early conciliation (see below), which effectively extends your overall deadline. But missing the primary time limit before contacting Acas can mean losing your right to claim entirely.

Use our time limits calculator to work out your deadline.

How to Make an Employment Tribunal Claim: Step by Step

There is a clear process for bringing an employment tribunal claim. Following each step properly is essential; skipping stages or getting the order wrong can result in your claim being rejected.

Step 1: Exhaust Internal Procedures

Before you consider a tribunal claim, you should have participated in your employer’s internal dispute resolution processes. This means raising a formal grievance or, if you’ve been dismissed, engaging with any appeal process available to you.

The Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures sets out the minimum standards both parties should follow. If your employer unreasonably fails to follow the Code, the tribunal can increase your compensation by up to 25%. Equally, if you unreasonably fail to follow it (for example, by not raising a grievance before claiming), your compensation can be reduced by up to 25% under section 207A of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

Step 2: Acas Early Conciliation

Before you can submit a claim to the employment tribunal, you are legally required (with limited exceptions) to go through Acas early conciliation.

You start by contacting Acas (the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service), who will appoint a conciliator to your case. The conciliator will contact your employer and attempt to resolve the dispute without the need for tribunal proceedings. If a settlement is reached, it’s recorded as a COT3 agreement, which is legally binding.

You are not obligated to accept a COT3 settlement. If the terms offered don’t adequately compensate you, you’re entitled to decline and proceed to tribunal.

As of 1 December 2025, the maximum early conciliation period has increased from six weeks to 12 weeks. This change, introduced by the Employment Tribunals (Early Conciliation: Exemptions and Rules of Procedure) (Amendment) Regulations 2025, gives both parties more time to negotiate. During the conciliation period, the clock on your tribunal time limit is paused.

If conciliation fails or you choose not to settle, Acas will issue an early conciliation certificate containing a unique reference number. You’ll need this number to submit your claim.

Step 3: Submit Your ET1 Claim Form

With your Acas certificate number in hand, you can now submit your claim to the employment tribunal using an ET1 form. You can do this online through the HMCTS portal.

Your ET1 must include your Acas early conciliation certificate number and your particulars of claim (also called your grounds of complaint). The particulars set out the facts of your case and the legal basis for your claim. Getting these right is important, as they frame your entire case from this point forward.

Step 4: Employer Responds (ET3)

Once the tribunal accepts your claim, it will serve a copy on your employer (the “respondent”), who then has 28 days to lodge their response using an ET3 form. The ET3 sets out the employer’s position and their defence to your claim.

Step 5: Case Management

After receiving the ET3, your case will be referred to an employment judge for initial consideration. The judge will decide whether the case should proceed, needs more information, should be struck out, or falls outside the tribunal’s jurisdiction.

Both parties will receive written case management directions, setting out what needs to happen before the hearing. In more complex cases, a preliminary hearing may be scheduled to discuss procedural matters, points of law, or whether certain claims should be struck out. Preliminary hearings often take place by video.

The judge will also set a deadline for disclosure, the process by which both sides must share all relevant documents with each other.

Step 6: Preparing for the Final Hearing

Preparation for the final hearing involves a significant amount of work. You’ll need to prepare:

• A schedule of loss: setting out, in financial terms, what you’ve lost as a result of your employer’s actions
• Witness statements: written accounts from you and any witnesses, covering the relevant facts
• A hearing bundle: a paginated collection of all documents both parties will rely on at the hearing

“I’ve seen many claimants who start their case without a solicitor, only to realise during preparation for the final hearing just how much work is involved. By that stage, it can be harder to get proper representation at short notice. My advice is always to get expert help as early as possible in the process.”

Tom Street Principal Solicitor, Tom Street & Co.

Employment Tribunal Compensation: What Could You Receive?

If your claim succeeds, the tribunal can award compensation. The amount depends on the type of claim and the financial losses you’ve suffered. Here’s how the main types of award work.

Basic Award

The basic award for unfair dismissal is calculated using the same formula as statutory redundancy pay, based on your age, length of service and weekly pay:

• 0.5 week’s pay for each complete year of service when you were aged under 22
• 1 week’s pay for each complete year aged 22 to 40
• 1.5 weeks’ pay for each complete year aged 41 or over

The weekly pay figure is capped at £719 for the 2025/26 tax year (set by the Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2025), and a maximum of 20 years’ service can be counted. This gives a maximum basic award of £21,570.

Compensatory Award

The compensatory award covers the financial losses you’ve actually suffered as a result of the unfair dismissal. Under section 123 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, this must be “just and equitable” in all the circumstances.

The compensatory award is currently capped at the lower of £118,223 or 52 weeks’ gross pay. From January 2027, this cap is being removed entirely under the Employment Rights Act 2025, bringing unfair dismissal compensation in line with discrimination and whistleblowing claims, which have always been uncapped.

Two important adjustments can affect the compensatory award:

• ACAS Code uplift: if your employer unreasonably failed to follow the ACAS Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures, the tribunal can increase the compensatory award by up to 25% (under TULRCA 1992 s.207A)
• Polkey reduction: if the tribunal finds that you would have been dismissed fairly in any event (for example, if your employer had followed correct procedures), it can reduce the compensatory award to reflect the percentage chance of that outcome

Discrimination Awards

Compensation for discrimination claims is uncapped. In addition to financial losses, the tribunal can award compensation for injury to feelings, assessed using the Vento bands:

Interest on discrimination awards is calculated at 8% simple interest. For financial loss, interest runs from the mid-point between the discriminatory act and the date of calculation. For injury to feelings, interest runs from the date of the act itself.

How We Can Help You

At Tribunal Claim Solicitors, our specialist employment law team focuses exclusively on representing employees. We understand that going through a workplace dispute is stressful, and the tribunal process can feel overwhelming, particularly when you’re already dealing with the impact of what’s happened to you.

We can help you at any stage of the process, whether you’re considering a claim, preparing an ET1, or heading towards a final hearing. For viable cases, we offer no win no fee representation, meaning you don’t pay legal fees unless your case succeeds.

You can call our team on 020 3835 3940 for a preliminary assessment of your case. Alternatively, submit your details through our free online assessment form and we’ll get back to you within 48 hours.