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Before making a claim

Before you make a claim, it will be helpful to seek specialist advice, particularly about:

• the Employment Tribunal process
• the kind of evidence you might have to present to support your claim

Acas (the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) offers free, confidential and impartial information on all employment rights issues.

Pre-claim conciliation

In spite of having made reasonable efforts to resolve your problem you may feel you are likely to make an Employment Tribunal claim. In this situation, you or your employer can ask an Acas conciliator to speak to you both and try to help you reach an agreement.

Acas offers a free early conciliation service called 'pre-claim conciliation'. This can help you and your employer find a way of settling the matter and avoid the need for an Employment Tribunal claim. If you want to find out whether this service may be suitable for your situation, call the Acas helpline.

• Acas contact details

How to make an Employment Tribunal claim

If you decide to make a claim to an Employment Tribunal, you should fill out an Employment Tribunal claim form, called an ET1. Your local Citizens Advice Bureau can help you complete the form.

You can get an ET1 claim form from:

• your local Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB)
• the Tribunals Service website
• an Employment Tribunal office

You should use the ET1 form to give information about:

• yourself
• your employer
• your complaint

You should set out clearly all the information relevant to your complaint. Where necessary you should confirm if you have followed your employer's procedures. It is advisable that you keep a copy of your completed form for your records.

The Employment Tribunal's booklet 'Making a claim' gives you more help on the information you should provide.

Send the ET1 form to the relevant Employment Tribunal office. A list of Employment Tribunal offices is in the booklet 'Making a claim' or available from the Tribunals Service. If you are not sure which office to send your claim form to, contact the Employment Tribunals enquiry line on 08457 959 775. Online claims will automatically be sent to the correct office.

The Employment Tribunal office will send a copy of the form to your employer and, in most cases, to Acas. Your employer then has 28 days to respond.

• Download 'Making a claim to an Employment Tribunal' (PDF, 192K) Opens new window

• Help with PDF files

Dealing with your claim

The Employment Tribunal will check whether they can deal with your claim. If there is any doubt, there may be a hearing held to clarify the issue. This is usually heard by an Employment Judge sitting alone.

The Employment Judge will also consider whether your claim has a reasonable prospect of success. If they believe there is little reasonable prospect of success, they may order you to pay a deposit of up to £500 to continue your claim. If you lose, the deposit may be used to help repay the costs or expenses of your employer defending the case.

If the case goes ahead, additional pre-hearing reviews or case management discussions can be held to clarify any remaining issues. The Employment Tribunal can also ask you or your employer for further information about the claim.

Settling the issue before a hearing

After you make an Employment Tribunal claim, Acas may still help you and your employer find ways to settle the case before it goes to a hearing.

Settling can be easier than making a claim, however:

• the amount you get in a settlement may be less than if you won your case
• your employer might attach conditions (for example, a confidentiality agreement)

It is always up to you whether you decide to settle your claim. Your employer may sometimes put a lot of pressure on you to accept. For example, they may say you will get nothing if you don't accept an offer there and then. You should remember that you always have the choice. If you are not sure whether to accept a settlement offer, think about getting specialist advice.

If you and your employer can agree on how to resolve your claim, you can enter into a legally binding agreement to 'dispose' of (finish) the claim. The agreement will be one of the following:

• a COT3 agreement, which is reached after an Acas conciliator has been involved in the settlement
• a private compromise agreement, where both you and your employer have representatives and you receive advice from someone who has appropriate insurance, usually a lawyer
  

Withdrawing a claim

You may not be able to reach an agreed settlement, but instead decide that you do not want to go ahead with your claim. If so, you can withdraw your claim at any time before the hearing.

However, withdrawing at the last minute might lead to your employer applying for costs because of unreasonable behaviour in the way you conducted your case.