Frequently Asked Questions

No. Aricase provides legal information, not legal advice. We are not a law firm and do not represent you. For advice specific to your circumstances, consult a qualified solicitor.

Aricase is an AI-powered employment tribunal guidance platform. It helps individuals navigate the employment tribunal process by providing legal information, AI-generated documents, and expert verification - at a fraction of the cost of traditional legal services.

The Aricase Method is how Aricase builds your case: four stages with a human check. (1) Tell me what happened, (2) Show me what you've got, (3) Here's the plan, (4) Let's work through it - then an employment law specialist checks it before you act. It is a loop, not a one-off: each stage you complete reshapes the plan as your case changes.

An employment law specialist with direct personal experience of the employment tribunal process reviews your case for accuracy. This is an expert verification service, not legal representation.

Not yet. Aricase currently covers employment law in England and Wales only. Scotland and Northern Ireland have different procedural rules and separate tribunal systems. If your situation falls outside England and Wales, please seek local specialist advice.

Your information is encrypted, stored securely, and used only to generate your case materials and guidance. We do not share your data with third parties.

Unfair dismissal is when an employer ends your employment without a fair reason, without a fair process, or both. The law recognises five potentially fair reasons (conduct, capability, redundancy, a legal bar, and 'some other substantial reason'); a dismissal can still be unfair if the employer did not act reasonably or follow a fair procedure. See our full guide to unfair dismissal for how tribunals approach this.

For most claims the time limit is 3 months less 1 day from the date of the event (for example, the dismissal), and you must start ACAS Early Conciliation within that window. The limit is strict, and missing it can end a claim regardless of its merits. The Employment Rights Act 2025 is expected to extend this to 6 months for most claims around October 2026, but that change is not yet in force. You can check your own dates with the tribunal deadline calculator. (Always confirm your time limit before relying on it.)

For ordinary unfair dismissal, most employees currently need 2 years' continuous service. There are important exceptions: 'automatically unfair' dismissals (such as those connected to pregnancy, whistleblowing, or asserting a statutory right) need no qualifying period at all. The Employment Rights Act 2025 is expected to reduce the qualifying period to 6 months around January 2027, subject to commencement regulations - it is not yet in force, and statutory redundancy pay will still require 2 years. See our guide on day-one rights.

ACAS Early Conciliation is a free, confidential step where ACAS tries to help you and your employer settle the dispute before a tribunal claim. For most claims it is mandatory: you cannot lodge an employment tribunal claim without an ACAS Early Conciliation certificate number, although a small number of claim types are exempt. Contacting ACAS also pauses your tribunal time limit while conciliation runs. See our ACAS Early Conciliation guide.

The ET1 is the form that starts an employment tribunal claim; you file it online via GOV.UK after ACAS Early Conciliation, using the certificate reference number. The most important section is the claim narrative, which works best when it is chronological, factual, names the people involved, and identifies the law you say has been broken. Our step-by-step ET1 guide walks through each section and the common mistakes to avoid.

Constructive dismissal is when you resign because your employer committed a fundamental breach of your employment contract, and you treat that breach as bringing the contract to an end. Three things generally need to be present: a serious (fundamental) breach by the employer; your resignation in response to it; and that you did not delay so long that you are treated as having accepted the breach. It is often harder to prove than an ordinary dismissal because the burden is on the employee. See our constructive dismissal guide.

Unfair dismissal compensation usually has two parts: a basic award (a fixed statutory formula based on age, length of service and a week's pay, which is capped - £751 as of 6 April 2026) and a compensatory award for your actual financial loss, mainly lost earnings. The compensatory award for ordinary unfair dismissal is currently capped at the lower of around £123,543 or 52 weeks' pay (figures as of 6 April 2026; some claims, such as whistleblowing, are uncapped). Our compensation guide explains how awards are calculated, and the free estimator gives an indicative range. (An estimate, not a prediction.)

Statutory redundancy pay is based on your age, your length of continuous service (you generally need at least 2 years), and your weekly pay, with the weekly figure capped by statute (£751 as of 6 April 2026). You receive a set number of weeks' pay for each full year worked, weighted by the age you were in each of those years. You can work out your own figure with the statutory redundancy pay calculator.

Yes. First-time subscribers get a 7-day free trial on either plan, with full access to everything that plan includes. We ask for your card details up front but charge nothing during the trial. When the 7 days end, your first payment is taken automatically so your case continues without interruption - unless you cancel before then, in which case you pay nothing. One trial per customer.

You choose between two monthly plans - Guidance (£80/month) or Guidance Expert (£125/month). Cancel any time; access continues to the end of the paid period. No percentage of your outcome is taken.

Both plans include AI case assessment, document generation, evidence management, deadline tracking, early conciliation guidance, settlement preparation, and AI chat. Guidance Expert also includes 1 human expert review per month, formal claim drafting, settlement strategy, hearing preparation, and more room to work through your case with Ari.

Access continues for as long as your subscription is active. You can cancel at any time and will retain access until the end of the billing period you have already paid for.

If you are on a free trial, simply cancel before it ends and you will not be charged at all. For a paid period, refunds are available within 14 days of the charge - as long as Aricase has not yet started processing your case. Once we begin (typically your first document upload or Stage 2 confirm), the refund window for the current period closes, but you can still cancel future renewals any time. Email support@aricase.ai to request a refund. Full policy in our Terms & Conditions.

Most employment tribunal claims in England and Wales must start within 3 months less 1 day of the event (for example dismissal). The practical first step inside that window is usually notifying ACAS for Early Conciliation, which pauses the clock while it runs. Our free tribunal deadline calculator applies those statutory rules to the dates you enter; always confirm your position against GOV.UK or ACAS before relying on a figure.

No estimate can replace formal legal advice. We provide guidance based on your answers, but you remain responsible for confirming your time limits before submitting a claim. If you are close to a deadline, contacting ACAS to start Early Conciliation is the step that pauses the tribunal clock - see our tribunal deadlines guide.

No. ACAS Early Conciliation and filing an employment tribunal claim are free, and many people run their own claim without representation. Aricase is built to help you prepare and represent yourself, with a human expert check along the way; some people still choose to instruct a solicitor for complex or high-value claims. Our guide on going to tribunal without a solicitor explains what doing it yourself involves.

ACAS (the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) is the free, independent public body that runs Early Conciliation - a required step before most employment tribunal claims, where it tries to help you and your employer settle without a hearing. Notifying ACAS also pauses your tribunal time limit while conciliation runs. See our ACAS Early Conciliation guide for what to expect.

Aricase is built for individual employment disputes in England and Wales, including unfair and constructive dismissal, discrimination (Equality Act protected characteristics), whistleblowing, unpaid wages and holiday pay, redundancy, and related breach of contract issues. It provides legal information and structured case-building, not legal advice or representation. See our employment law guides for topic-by-topic detail.

Most employment disputes settle without a final hearing. Aricase helps you prepare for ACAS Early Conciliation and settlement discussions with structured drafts and a clear view of your timeline and issues. Any formal settlement agreement still usually needs independent legal advice before you sign - Aricase is not a law firm. See our settlement agreements guide for what those documents typically cover.

If your claim proceeds toward a hearing, Aricase helps you organise evidence, understand the stages (ET3 response, disclosure, bundle, witness statements), and prepare documents step by step, with a human quality check on the Guidance Expert plan. It does not appear for you at the hearing. Our hearing guide explains what a tribunal day typically involves.