Unfair Dismissal Tribunal: How to Take Your Employer to Tribunal Step by Step

You Do Not Need a Lawyer to Go to Tribunal

The employment tribunal is designed to be accessible to litigants in person. You do not need a solicitor. You do not need a barrister. Thousands of claimants represent themselves at employment tribunal every year and many win. What you need is the right knowledge, the right documents, and a clear understanding of the process.

The process from dismissal to tribunal hearing typically takes nine to twelve months. That sounds daunting but it breaks down into manageable steps. Each step has a deadline and a specific task. Miss a step and you lose your right to claim. Follow the steps and you have a genuine claim.

Step 1 -- Contact ACAS Within Three Months

Before you can file any employment tribunal claim you must first notify ACAS and go through early conciliation. This is mandatory. The deadline is three months less one day from the date of your dismissal. Miss this deadline and your claim is gone permanently.

Go to acas.org.uk today and complete the early conciliation notification form. It takes ten minutes. Once you submit it the three month clock pauses. ACAS will contact you within a few days and attempt to facilitate a settlement. If no settlement is reached they issue an Early Conciliation Certificate -- the reference number on this certificate goes on your ET1.

You do not need to be certain you have a claim to start ACAS. You can withdraw at any time. Starting ACAS early conciliation costs nothing and protects your position.

Step 2 -- File Your ET1 Claim Form

Once ACAS early conciliation ends without settlement you have a minimum of one month to file your ET1 -- the claim form that starts tribunal proceedings. File at employment.tribunals.service.gov.uk. There is no fee for unfair dismissal claims.

The ET1 asks you to describe what happened and what you are claiming. Be factual and specific. State the dates, the reasons given for dismissal, why you believe the dismissal was unfair, and what you are seeking. Attach your Early Conciliation Certificate reference number. Keep a copy of everything you submit.

Once your ET1 is accepted the tribunal sends a copy to your employer -- now called the respondent -- who has 28 days to file an ET3 response. You will receive a copy of their response. Read it carefully. Their defence tells you exactly what they intend to argue.

Step 3 -- The Preliminary Hearing

In many cases the tribunal lists a preliminary hearing before the full merits hearing. Preliminary hearings deal with jurisdictional issues -- whether your claim was filed in time, whether you have the qualifying period, whether the claim has reasonable prospects of success. They can also be used to identify the issues in dispute and give directions for the full hearing.

Attend the preliminary hearing. It is often conducted by telephone or video. Prepare a short position statement setting out your case. If the respondent raises a jurisdictional argument -- for example that you do not have two years service -- be ready to address it. If the preliminary hearing goes against you, you can apply for reconsideration.

Step 4 -- Exchange of Documents and Witness Statements

Before the full hearing both parties exchange documents and witness statements. The tribunal will give directions setting out the timetable for this -- typically documents are exchanged first, then witness statements, then a hearing bundle is prepared.

Your witness statement is your evidence in chief. It is what you would say if you were giving evidence in a formal examination -- the judge reads it before you say a word. It must be clear, chronological, specific, and focused on the issues the tribunal needs to decide. It should cover: your employment history, the circumstances leading to dismissal, the dismissal itself, any appeal, and your losses. It should not be a character attack on your employer. It should be evidence.

The hearing bundle is a paginated bundle of all documents both parties rely on. Your ET1, the ET3, your contract of employment, the disciplinary letters, any relevant emails, and your witness statement all go in the bundle. The tribunal judge, the respondent, and you each have a copy.

Step 5 -- Your Schedule of Loss

Before the hearing you must file and serve a schedule of loss setting out the compensation you are claiming. This document itemises every head of loss -- basic award, immediate loss of earnings, future loss of earnings, pension contributions, loss of statutory rights. Get this right. The tribunal cannot award what you have not claimed.

The basic award is calculated using the statutory redundancy formula. The compensatory award covers actual financial loss -- lost earnings from dismissal to the hearing, future loss, and pension. The current cap on the compensatory award is one year's gross pay or £115,115 whichever is lower. For discrimination claims there is no cap.

Step 6 -- The Hearing

Employment tribunal hearings are formal but less intimidating than civil courts. There is no jury. The panel is typically one employment judge sitting alone for unfair dismissal claims (sometimes with two lay members for discrimination claims). You address the judge as "Sir" or "Ma'am."

The hearing follows a set structure. Both parties give evidence in chief by reference to their witness statements -- the judge reads them, so you do not read them out. Each party is then cross-examined by the other side. Submissions are made at the end -- each party addresses the legal issues and the evidence. The judge then either gives judgment immediately or reserves it (sends it in writing later).

Prepare thoroughly. Know your witness statement. Know the documents in the bundle and the page numbers. Know the legal test for unfair dismissal -- the employer must show a potentially fair reason and that they acted reasonably in dismissing for that reason. Prepare questions to ask the respondent's witnesses. Have your submissions ready.

The Legal Test for Unfair Dismissal

The tribunal applies a two-stage test. First: did the employer have a potentially fair reason for dismissal? The five potentially fair reasons are capability, conduct, redundancy, statutory illegality, and some other substantial reason. Second: did the employer act reasonably in treating that reason as sufficient to dismiss? This includes whether they followed a fair procedure -- investigation, disciplinary hearing, right of appeal.

The employer bears the burden of showing the reason for dismissal. The reasonableness question is assessed objectively -- not whether the tribunal would have dismissed, but whether the dismissal fell within the range of reasonable responses open to a reasonable employer. This is the band of reasonable responses test and it gives employers significant latitude. Your job is to show the dismissal fell outside that band.

Your Time Limit -- Act Today

Three months less one day from dismissal. Contact ACAS at acas.org.uk now. Do not wait until you have gathered all your evidence or taken advice. Start the process today and do those things while the clock is paused.