Making a claim guidance for Employment Tribunal
Please read the Guidance page before completing a claim form.
New Claimants in Northern Ireland should apply to the Industrial Tribunals and Fair Employment Tribunal, Northern Ireland.
- If you are, or were, an employee of the respondent
- How soon must I make my claim to an Employment Tribunal?
- Acceptable claims
- Unacceptable claims
- Claim (ET1) form & guidance
If you are, or were, an employee of the respondent
You need to tell us whether your claim relates to your dismissal. If you are or were an employee of the respondent and your claim or part of it does not relate to you being dismissed.
You need to tell us:
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your name and address;
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the name and address of the respondent or respondents (the person or organisation against whom you are making a claim); and
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the details of your complaint;
How soon must I make my claim to an Employment Tribunal?
Most claims to Employment Tribunals must be made within very strict time limits. In most cases the tribunal must receive your claim within three months. In dismissal cases the three month period begins from the date your employment ended: in discrimination cases or complaints relating to non-payment of wages or holiday pay the three month period begins when the matter you are complaining about happened. There are special rules for equal pay and redundancy payment claims.
For example
If it happened on 1 March, the tribunal must receive your claim on or before 31 May.
If it happened on 5 March, the tribunal must receive your claim on or before 4 June.
If we receive your claim outside the time limit, the tribunal will only be able to consider it in fairly restricted circumstances which relate to your reasons for not bringing the claim in time. There is no general discretion to extend time.
In general to claim unfair dismissal you must have worked continuously for the respondent for not less than two years. However, in certain cases relating to unfair dismissal it may not be necessary to have worked for the respondent for two years, for example if the reason for your dismissal was one of the following:
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Being involved with a union.
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Joining a union or choosing not to join one.
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Being involved in Health and safety activities either as an employer's health and safety "officer" or a worker's representative or for raising health and safety issues, or for refusing to work in circumstances of danger.
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Taking part in activities as a pension scheme trustee.
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Being, or proposing to become, an "employee representative".
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Being a shop worker or a betting worker who refuses to work on a Sunday.
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Using certain rights covered by the Working Time Regulations.
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Being dismissed for pregnancy/pregnancy related reason.
Acceptable claims
If your claim is accepted, the Tribunal office will send you a letter to confirm this together with a booklet which will tell you what the next steps are. At the same time we will send the respondent a copy of your claim form together with a form for their response.
If no response is received within 28 days, the Tribunal may consider issuing a default judgment. A default judgment allows a Tribunal chairman to give a decision about the claim without the claimant having to go to a hearing.
Having received and accepted the claim, we will give it a case number. You should quote your case number if you contact a tribunal office either by phone or in writing.
In most cases, we also send a copy of your claim to ACAS. This is the independent conciliation service. They will try to help you and the respondent reach an agreed settlement if that is what you both wish to do.
Unacceptable claims
Your claim will not be accepted if:
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It is not on an approved form;
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You have not given all the required information:
We will return your form to you with a letter telling you the reason why your claim has not been accepted and what action you should take.
Having a claim determined by an Employment Tribunal can take a number of months. The average time between submitting your claim to the tribunal and getting a final decision is 32 weeks¹. The length of time it takes to complete the process will depend on what your claim is about and the issues involved in your claim – if there are lots of issues, or they are complicated, your case may take longer than the average.
If the employment tribunal uphold your claim, they will consider what award to make. The award will be the amount the tribunal calculate you should have been paid if the breach of your rights had not occurred. Tribunals will decide what award you are entitled to based on your personal circumstances, including your age, how much you earn and, for cases involving discrimination, injury to feelings - this will be based on existing guidance, set out in case law. For unfair dismissal claims, the tribunal may also make an award for future loss of earnings. Awards for successful claimants will be different and depend on the details of the claim, but the average award for single discrimination and unfair dismissal claims across all the types of claims is £11,740².
Before making a claim to employment tribunal please look at the information below. This contains information on the average length of time it takes to get a final judgement, and the average award made by the tribunal to help you understand the common outcomes for claims in your type of claim before entering the employment tribunal process. You can obtain impartial advice about your claim from the Acas Helpline on 08457 474747.
1&2 (Source: ET and EAT Annual Statistics 2011-12)
The average has been measured by the ‘median’ which is the middle number in a series of numbers that have been ranked from lowest to highest.
Table 1 below shows the average awards made at tribunal and the average length of time from receipt of claim at tribunal to the final judgement being sent to all parties for Employment Tribunal claims during the financial year 2011-12.
| Jurisdiction | Average Award (all claims[1]) | Average Time in Weeks (all single claims) |
|---|---|---|
|
Age Discrimination
|
£6,065
|
24
|
|
Disability Discrimination
|
£8,928
|
29
|
|
Race Discrimination
|
£5,256
|
30
|
|
Religious Belief Discrimination
|
£4,267
|
30
|
|
Sex Discrimination
|
£6,746
|
27
|
|
Sexual Orientation Discrimination
|
£13,505
|
25
|
|
Unfair Dismissal
|
£4,560
|
18
|
Source: ET and EAT Annual Statistics 2011-12
Note: The average has been measured by the 'median' which is the middle number in a series of numbers that have been ranked from lowest to highest.
Automated Receipt
When a claim has been successfully submitted you will receive a receipt to confirm this. If you do not receive a receipt notification, you should contact the Employment Tribunal office immediately.
