Employment Tribunal: How Claims Work in England and Wales

The phrase "employment tribunal" covers a lot of ground - from the moment you wonder whether a dismissal was lawful, through ACAS conciliation and the claim form, to a hearing where a judge decides the outcome. This hub explains what an employment tribunal is, the kinds of claim it hears, how a case actually moves from start to finish, and where to find the deeper, step-by-step guides for each stage. Tribunals in England and Wales are designed to be used by ordinary people without a lawyer, there are no fees to bring a claim, and the most important number to know is your deadline.

What is an employment tribunal?

An employment tribunal is an independent judicial body that decides legal disputes between employees (or workers) and their employers in England and Wales. It is part of the courts and tribunals system, but it is deliberately less formal than a civil court: hearings are run by an employment judge, evidence is given in plain language, and the rules are designed so that people can take part without a lawyer.

The judge sits alone for most unfair dismissal and unpaid wages claims. For discrimination and whistleblowing claims, a panel of three usually sits - the judge plus two non-legal members who bring practical workplace experience. Tribunals apply employment law as set out in statutes such as the Employment Rights Act 1996 and the Equality Act 2010, together with the case law that interprets them.

What claims do employment tribunals hear?

Tribunals hear a wide range of workplace claims. The most common fall into a few groups:

Each claim has its own legal test and its own time limit. It is common for one situation to give rise to more than one claim - for example, a dismissal that is both unfair and discriminatory.

How an employment tribunal claim works

Almost every claim follows the same path, even though the detail differs from case to case:

1. ACAS Early Conciliation. Before you can bring most claims, you must notify ACAS, who offer free conciliation to try to settle the dispute. This step is compulsory and it pauses the deadline clock - see the ACAS Early Conciliation guide.
2. The ET1 claim form. If conciliation does not resolve things, you set out your claim on the ET1 form. Getting this right matters, because it frames the case the tribunal will decide.
3. The employer's response (ET3). The employer files a response defending the claim. The issues in dispute are then identified.
4. Case-management orders. The tribunal sets a timetable for disclosure of documents, the agreed bundle, and the exchange of witness statements. Missing these orders can be serious.
5. The final hearing. The tribunal hears the evidence, tests it by cross-examination, and decides the claim. The what happens at a hearing guide walks through the day in detail.

If you are running the case yourself, the self-representation guide is the home for how to prepare and present each stage.

How long does an employment tribunal take?

There is no fixed timetable, and how long a claim takes varies a great deal. As a rough guide:

• ACAS Early Conciliation runs for up to 12 weeks before a claim is even filed.
• Once the ET1 is submitted, the employer has 28 days to file its ET3 response.
• A case-management stage then sets the timetable for disclosure, the bundle and witness statements.
• The wait for a final hearing depends on the tribunal's backlog in your region and the complexity of the claim.

Straightforward claims - a single unfair dismissal or unpaid wages case - can be resolved in a few months. Contested, multi-day claims, particularly discrimination and whistleblowing cases heard by a panel, often take a year or more from ACAS notification to judgment, and the hearing itself can last from half a day to a week or more. Many claims never reach a hearing at all, settling through ACAS or a settlement agreement along the way. The tribunal statistics guide gives a sense of typical timescales and outcomes. For a stage-by-stage breakdown of where the time goes, see how long an employment tribunal takes.

How long do you have to claim?

For most claims the deadline is 6 months less 1 day from the event complained of where it happened on or after 1 October 2026 (3 months less 1 day before then) - usually the date of dismissal or the act of discrimination - and you must start ACAS Early Conciliation within that window. Conciliation then pauses the clock while it runs. Missing the deadline almost always bars the claim, so this is the first thing to work out.

You can check your own dates with the tribunal deadline calculator, and the employment tribunal deadlines guide explains the trigger dates and the ACAS pause in full.

What can a tribunal award?

If you win, the remedy is usually compensation rather than getting your job back. For unfair dismissal that means a basic award (calculated like statutory redundancy pay) plus a compensatory award for your financial losses, subject to a statutory cap where employment ends before 1 January 2027 (the cap is removed for ordinary unfair dismissal where it ends on or after that date). Discrimination and whistleblowing awards are uncapped and can include compensation for injury to feelings. The employment tribunal compensation guide breaks down how awards are calculated, capped, adjusted and taxed, and the tribunal statistics guide shows how modest typical awards really are compared with the headlines.

Do you need a solicitor?

No - tribunals are designed to be used without legal representation, and many people represent themselves successfully. Whether to get help usually depends on the complexity of the claim and the amount at stake. The self-representation guide covers doing it yourself, the cost of a tribunal claim and employment solicitor costs guides explain the fee options and the low risk of being ordered to pay the other side, and many disputes are resolved earlier through a settlement agreement or a protected conversation without a hearing at all.

The full guide library

This hub links to every guide in the Aricase resource library. Use it as a map of the whole topic.

Dismissal and leaving work

• Unfair dismissal
• Automatic unfair dismissal
• Constructive dismissal
• Wrongful dismissal
• Day-one unfair dismissal rights
• Redundancy pay
• Notice periods
• Settlement agreements
• Protected conversations

Discrimination, whistleblowing and harassment

• Workplace discrimination
• Pregnancy and maternity discrimination
• Bullying and harassment at work
• Whistleblowing

Pay and working rights

• Unpaid wages and unlawful deductions
• Holiday pay
• Statutory sick pay
• Zero-hours contract rights
• Flexible working requests

Raising it at work first

• How to write a grievance letter
• Disciplinary hearing rights
• ACAS Early Conciliation

The tribunal process

• How to write your ET1 form
• Employment tribunal deadlines
• Employment tribunal evidence
• What happens at a hearing
• Representing yourself
• Employment tribunal compensation
• Tribunal statistics
• How much an employment tribunal costs
• The cost of an employment solicitor

The law is changing

• Employment Rights Act 2025

Wherever you are in the process, the safest first move is the same: work out your deadline, then decide what to do with the time you have.

This article is legal information, not legal advice. Tribunal procedure and the figures involved change over time. If you are unsure how any of this applies to your situation, you may want to consider speaking to an employment law specialist.