Pillar Guide · Updated July 2026
UK Employment Tribunal Claim Process: A Practical Guide for 2026/27
Bringing an employment tribunal claim involves a strict, procedural pathway that catches many people out — miss the three-month deadline or skip ACAS early conciliation and a claim can be thrown out regardless of its merits. This pillar guide explains the mandatory ACAS conciliation step, exactly how the time limit works, how to submit the ET1 claim form, what happens at each stage from preliminary hearing to final hearing, how compensation is calculated including the unfair dismissal cap, the cost of bringing a claim, and how a tribunal judgment is actually enforced if an employer refuses to pay.
ACAS Early Conciliation
Before filing almost any employment tribunal claim, the prospective claimant must first notify ACAS and go through early conciliation — a mandatory step introduced in 2014 to reduce the number of cases reaching a full hearing. ACAS assigns a conciliator who contacts both sides to explore whether a settlement can be reached without tribunal proceedings, over a standard period of up to six weeks (which can be extended once by agreement of both parties).
If conciliation succeeds, the matter is resolved through a legally binding COT3 agreement. If it fails, is declined by either party, or simply times out, ACAS issues an early conciliation certificate with a unique reference number that must be quoted on the subsequent ET1 claim form — a claim submitted without a valid certificate number (where one is required) will be rejected by the tribunal.
A small number of claim types are exempt from mandatory early conciliation, but these are limited exceptions; the overwhelming majority of claims, including unfair dismissal, discrimination, unpaid wages and redundancy pay disputes, require it.
The Three-Month Time Limit
Most tribunal claims must be brought within three months less one day of the relevant event — for unfair dismissal, the effective date of termination; for discrimination, the date of the discriminatory act (or the last in a continuing course of conduct); for unlawful deductions from wages, generally the date of the deduction. Redundancy pay claims have a longer six-month time limit.
Contacting ACAS for early conciliation within the time limit pauses the clock for the duration of the conciliation process, and if the limit would otherwise expire during or shortly after conciliation, it is extended to give at least one month from the end of the conciliation period. This mechanism is designed to prevent claimants losing their right to claim simply because they engaged with conciliation in good faith — but the calculation can be confusing, and tribunals apply the time limit strictly, only extending it in limited circumstances where it was not reasonably practicable to claim sooner.
The safest approach is to start ACAS early conciliation as soon as possible after the triggering event rather than close to the three-month deadline, leaving margin for any confusion over dates.
Submitting the ET1 Form
The ET1 is the official tribunal claim form, submitted online through the gov.uk employment tribunal service or by post. It requires the ACAS early conciliation certificate number, the claimant's and respondent employer's details, the type or types of claim being brought, a factual narrative of what happened, and the remedy sought (compensation, reinstatement, a declaration, or a combination).
A single ET1 can include multiple related claims arising from the same facts — for example, unfair dismissal alongside disability discrimination — which is common where a dismissal is alleged to be linked to a protected characteristic or a whistleblowing disclosure.
Once accepted, the tribunal serves the claim on the employer, who has 28 days to respond using an ET3 form, either admitting the claim, contesting it, or partially conceding some elements while disputing others.
Hearing Stages
After the ET3 response, the tribunal typically lists a preliminary hearing to manage the case: identifying the precise legal issues, ordering disclosure of relevant documents, setting a timetable for exchange of witness statements, and fixing a date and time estimate for the final hearing. Some preliminary hearings additionally decide substantive preliminary issues — such as whether the claimant was legally an employee, or whether the claim was brought within the time limit — that could dispose of all or part of the case before a full hearing is needed.
Disclosure requires both sides to share relevant documents even where unhelpful to their own case. Witness statements are then exchanged, usually simultaneously, ahead of the final hearing.
At the final hearing, an Employment Judge (sitting alone for most claims, or with two lay members for discrimination and certain other claim types) hears oral evidence, allows cross-examination, and reaches a judgment either given orally at the end of the hearing or reserved and issued in writing afterwards, together with reasons.
Compensation and the Unfair Dismissal Cap
For a successful unfair dismissal claim, compensation comprises a basic award (calculated similarly to statutory redundancy pay — a formula based on age, length of service and a capped weekly pay figure, up to a maximum number of years) and a compensatory award covering actual financial loss such as lost earnings, lost benefits and reasonable job-search costs, subject to a statutory cap set each year at the lower of a fixed maximum figure or 52 weeks' gross pay.
The compensatory cap does not apply where the dismissal is automatically unfair for whistleblowing or for reasons related to a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010, nor to discrimination awards themselves, which are uncapped. Discrimination compensation can include injury to feelings, assessed using the Vento bands — a lower band for less serious cases, a middle band for more serious cases not in the highest category, and an upper band reserved for the most serious, prolonged or deliberate campaigns of discrimination.
Tribunals can also order reinstatement (return to the same job) or re-engagement (return to a comparable job), though these remedies are rarely ordered in practice because most employment relationships have irretrievably broken down by the time a claim reaches a hearing.
Costs, Fees and Representation
There is no fee to bring or progress an employment tribunal claim in 2026/27, following the Supreme Court's 2017 ruling in R (Unison) v Lord Chancellor, which found the previous fee regime unlawfully blocked access to justice. Employment tribunals generally do not award costs against the losing party (unlike civil courts), except in limited circumstances such as vexatious or unreasonable conduct of proceedings.
Legal aid is generally unavailable for tribunal representation. Claimants commonly rely on trade union representation (where a member), a no-win-no-fee arrangement with a solicitor, free advice from ACAS or Citizens Advice, or self-representation, with tribunal judges expected to assist unrepresented litigants in understanding procedure.
Enforcing a Tribunal Award
A tribunal judgment does not enforce itself — if an employer does not pay voluntarily, the claimant must take separate enforcement action, typically by registering the judgment with the county court (sheriff court in Scotland) and pursuing standard enforcement routes such as a warrant of control or a third-party debt order against the employer's bank account.
A free enforcement service run by HM Courts and Tribunals Service can assist by first warning the non-paying employer and referring for enforcement if that fails. Persistent non-payers can also be publicly named by the Department for Business and Trade as a further deterrent.
Settling a Claim
Most tribunal claims settle before reaching a final hearing — during ACAS early conciliation, through direct negotiation, at a Judicial Mediation session offered by some tribunals, or informally at any point up to the hearing itself. Settlements are typically recorded as a COT3 agreement (brokered via ACAS) or a settlement agreement drafted by solicitors, both of which are legally binding and prevent the claimant pursuing the same claim further once signed.