How do Employment Tribunals work? A short introduction

What does it actually mean to take your employer to Tribunal? Like, how does it actually work?

So I'll talk you through the steps. First, you would get in touch with ACAS and tell them that you plan to take your employer to Tribunal. They'll ask if you want to use their Early Conciliation service, which tries to prevent it from going that far and tries to get a settlement.

If that doesn't work, then they give you some details that you can then use to submit your Tribunal claim form. The Tribunal claim form is called an ET1 and it lists out who you are, who your employer is, and it gives you space to say what you think was illegal and what happened and what you want as a result of it. We have a link in the bio for that. We can help you write it.

The employer would read your document, then submit their version of events. Then the Tribunal would get in touch. They would set dates for hearings. Sometimes they're pretty boring, just admin. Then the Tribunal would then start asking for evidence, witness statements, etc. And you would be negotiating with your employer potentially all the way through this.

And you can always settle before a decision is made.