Employment Tribunal Making a Claim Online
When you are making a claim online you are going to need:
- Your Acas early conciliation certificate number.
- Details of your claim (including the background, dates, and people involved).
Note: There is extra guidance available on whistleblowing for employees if this topic relates to the claim.
Employment Tribunal Making a Claim by Post
It is best to read the government guidance before making a claim to an employment tribunal. You can download the ET1 claim form from HMCTS form finder service if you are claiming in England.
In some cases, the claims form states that you need to pay a fee. But, there is no fee to make a claim to the Employment Tribunal. Return the completed form to the appropriate address. The country where you were working will determine which address to use.
Employment Tribunal Central Office (England and Wales)
PO Box 10218
Leicester LE1 8EG
Employment Tribunal Central Office (Scotland)
PO Box 27105
Glasgow G2 9JR
Employment Tribunal Talk-through Services
The employment tribunal talk-through service is not for general enquiries. It applies only to those who need help using a computer. But, before you call them it is best to prepare:
- Your Acas early conciliation certificate number (or valid reason why you do not have it).
- The specific details about your claim. As a rule this will include information on the case background, the dates, and people involved.
Employment Tribunal Talk-through Service
Telephone: 0300 123 1024
Monday to Friday: 8:30am to 5pm
Find out the price of call charges.
Note: This service does not provide advice on the details of any claim. You can contact the employment tribunal customer contact centre number instead.
After Making a Claim to an Employment Tribunal
The ‘respondent‘ is the person you are claiming against. As a rule, they get 28 days to reply to you once they receive your claim form.
Note: It is their opportunity to give their version of the case.
You must wait for a period of 28 days to see if they reply. A tribunal will decide whether to conduct a full hearing after the respondent replies. What happens if the respondent fails to reply to your claim? In this case, the tribunal can decide on your case without the need for you to attend a hearing.
Employment Tribunal Preliminary Hearing
The tribunal can ask you to attend an initial hearing – called a ‘preliminary hearing‘. This is a situation where the judge makes decisions on circumstances such as:
- Whether all your claim can go ahead or only part of it.
- The scheduled date and time of a tribunal hearing.
- How long they will allocate for the hearing.
Arranging Documents
The rules of an employment tribunal allow requests for documentation from each other. Thus, you can ask the respondent to provide documents if it will help your case. Likewise, the respondent can also request documents from the claimant ‘you’.
Some examples of documents that may get requested include:
- A contract of employment.
- Pay slips.
- Details about a pension scheme.
- Notes taken from any relevant meetings conducted in the workplace.
In most cases, tribunals issue orders setting out a timetable for document exchanges. A letter informs you how many copies of each document you would need to take to the hearing.
Organising Witnesses for the Hearing
You can bring a witness or witnesses to the hearing. But, you should only use witnesses that can give evidence that is ‘directly‘ relevant to the case.
What happens if you ask a witness to attend and they do not want to attend? In this case, you can ask the tribunal to make an order for them to attend.
To do so, apply in writing to the same tribunal office that is dealing with your case. They will need to know:
- The full name and registered address of the witness or witnesses.
- Details how the witness or witnesses may be able to help your case (what information they can give).
- Why the witness or witnesses refused to attend (if you know it).
Note: As a rule, the claimant is responsible for paying for the expenses of a witness or witnesses.