How do I bring an employment tribunal claim?

If your employer has dismissed you, withheld wages or discriminated against you, you have the right to challenge it. The deadline is already running. Today, write down what happened and when, save your rota, payslips and messages, then contact Acas. In Great Britain, most claims for acts on or after 1 October 2026 have six months minus a day; earlier acts usually have three months minus a day. A grievance will not stop the clock.

How long do you have?

Start with the act you are complaining about, not the day you decided to claim. A grievance, disciplinary appeal or ongoing negotiation will not extend the limit. Acas early conciliation can pause it, but only if you notify Acas in time.

Do this after your shift if you need to: photograph payslips and rotas, save messages somewhere you control, and make a dated note of what happened. Care workers can note travel between visits; warehouse and delivery workers can save clock-in or app records; cleaners can compare contracted hours with timesheets. Do not wait for an internal grievance or a manager’s promise. The clock keeps running.

Compare two dismissal dates. Dismissed on 15 September 2026? The old limit ends 14 December 2026. Dismissed on 20 November 2026? The new limit ends 19 May 2027. These dates exclude any Acas extension. Calculate the deadline for your own claim.

A tribunal can consider some late claims, but the tests differ. For unfair dismissal and wage deductions, it asks whether timely presentation was reasonably practicable. For discrimination, it asks whether an extension is just and equitable. Do not rely on getting one. Acas explains the time-limit change and warns of a much shorter seven-day application window for interim relief in some dismissals.

Acas early conciliation: the compulsory first step

For most claims you must first notify Acas under section 18A of the Employment Tribunals Act 1996. Acas can discuss settlement separately with you and the respondent. If you do not settle, it issues a certificate whose number normally belongs on your ET1.

Notification needs names and addresses, not your evidence bundle. Since 1 December 2025 the conciliation period is up to 12 weeks for new notifications; it may end sooner. Contact Acas before your original claim deadline, not after it.

For practical help, ask your union: UNISON for care and health, Unite for hospitality and transport, USDAW for retail, or GMB for logistics and care. Acas handles early conciliation; Citizens Advice and local law centres can help you understand the route. If the issue is minimum-wage underpayment, report it to HMRC as well as considering a claim. Report labour exploitation to the GLAA, unsafe work to the HSE, and discrimination to the EHRC. These reports do not replace or extend your tribunal deadline.

1. Notify Acas. Notify separately for each prospective respondent. Check the legal name on the contract and payslips, or at Companies House.
2. Consider settlement. Speaking to a conciliator is voluntary after notification. You can negotiate, decline conciliation or agree terms through Acas.
3. Record the certificate date. Keep the number, your notification date and the date the certificate is sent. They determine what goes on the ET1 and how long you have.
4. File the ET1. Enter the certificate number unless a statutory exemption applies. Certain urgent interim-relief cases and some multiple-claimant cases have exceptions. Check before relying on one.

Notifying Acas in time pauses the tribunal clock. The calculation uses the notification date and the date the certificate is deemed received; an emailed certificate counts as received when sent. Add the paused period to the original deadline. If that adjusted deadline falls during conciliation or within a month after it, a separate rule gives you until one month after the certificate instead. Use the later deadline; do not assume you can leave notification until the last day.

Filing the ET1 without getting rejected

Submit the ET1 online through GOV.UK; there is no filing fee. Paper filing is also possible. Keep the submission confirmation and a copy of everything you sent.

Under the Employment Tribunal Procedure Rules 2024, the tribunal can reject a claim form missing required details or an early conciliation number where one is required (rules 12-13). A rejected claim may be reconsidered under rule 14. After acceptance, initial consideration of the papers (rule 27) can lead to a dismissal under rule 28 if the claim has no reasonable prospect of success. Rejection and dismissal are distinct stages.

Put the correct legal name and address for each respondent on the form. If there is more than one respondent, notify Acas about each one; check a company name against the contract, payslips and Companies House.

State each complaint with the key events and dates. For example, if you claim unfair dismissal and unlawful deduction from wages, explain both. Say what remedy you want and keep a schedule of loss if you have one. Multiple claimants can use one form where the rules allow. The ET1 is your claim, not your evidence bundle.

What happens after you file

The tribunal sends the ET1 to the respondent, whose ET3 is due 28 days after the tribunal sends the claim (rule 17). If no response is accepted, rule 22 lets the claim proceed as uncontested; the tribunal still decides what orders are justified.

The tribunal then sets directions for exchanging relevant documents, witness statements and a hearing bundle. A preliminary hearing may settle questions of status, jurisdiction or timing. Under rule 40, it can order a deposit of up to £1,000 for a specific allegation or argument with little reasonable prospect of success, after considering ability to pay. If you do not pay, that allegation is struck out. If you lose it for substantially the same reasons, the deposit can go to the other side and costs risk rises.

Final hearings may be in person, by video or hybrid; public hearings are the norm. An Employment Judge usually sits alone, though some cases have lay members. Witnesses give evidence and can be cross-examined. You might hear the decision on the day or receive it in writing later.

Build a dated chronology and preserve contracts, payslips, rotas, messages and meeting notes. Follow the tribunal’s directions on disclosure and witness statements. Check the bundle against the chronology before the hearing. Look for missing payslips before the bundle closes, not while you are being cross-examined.

Using the tribunal for contract disputes and unpaid wages

Notice pay and unpaid contractual bonuses can be breach-of-contract claims. Wage deductions and holiday pay can also give rise to statutory claims, including claims available to workers while still engaged. Identify the legal basis before you file. It determines who can claim, what can be recovered and the applicable time limit.

An employment tribunal can hear a former employee’s qualifying contractual claim if it arose or remains outstanding on termination. Its award for that claim is capped at £25,000. Employment contracts that continue, and excluded subjects such as living accommodation, intellectual property and restraint of trade, belong elsewhere. Larger claims may be brought in the county court in England and Wales or pursued in Scotland’s sheriff court; court limitation and prescription rules differ. In Scotland, the tribunal’s longer contract-claim limit starts only for breaches on or after 9 November 2026; earlier breaches retain the old three-month-minus-a-day limit, according to Acas.

For a deduction claim under Part II of the Employment Rights Act 1996, keep the payslips and identify each amount and date. Holiday pay may fall under the Working Time Regulations instead; an unpaid contractual bonus may need a different legal route. See overtime pay and wrongful dismissal and breach of contract.

When an employer withholds pay you are owed, that is wage theft, not a paperwork mix-up. For minimum-wage underpayment, complain to HMRC; workers in care, hospitality and retail can also check whether their employer appears in the government’s naming rounds. That route does not recover every kind of unpaid pay or pause a tribunal deadline.

What you can win

The remedy depends on the claim and the loss proved. The tribunal may decide it with liability or list a separate hearing.

For unfair dismissal, possible remedies are reinstatement, re-engagement or a basic and compensatory award. For relevant dismissals from 6 April 2026, the week’s pay used for the basic award is capped at £751, giving a maximum basic award of £22,530. The ordinary compensatory cap is £123,543 or 52 weeks’ pay, whichever is lower. You still have to prove your actual loss. Special types of dismissal can be exempt from the compensatory cap. Ordinary unfair dismissal generally still requires two years’ service for dismissals before 1 January 2027; automatically unfair dismissals have no such qualifying period. Discrimination is a separate claim with no service requirement.

For discrimination, compensation for proven financial loss and injury to feelings is uncapped. For claims presented on or after 6 April 2026 the Vento guidance gives lower (£1,300-£12,600), middle (£12,600-£37,700) and upper (£37,700-£62,900) bands; exceptional cases can exceed the upper band. The Scottish guidance has a qualification. See paragraph 12 of the original presidential guidance. A tribunal can also make a declaration or recommendation. The band is a guide, not a guaranteed payout.

For money claims, an award may cover unpaid wages, holiday or notice pay. The £25,000 limit applies to qualifying tribunal contract claims, not every statutory wages claim. An unreasonable failure by either side to follow the Acas disciplinary and grievance Code can increase or decrease certain awards by up to 25%. See our guides to disciplinary procedures and grievances.

If discrimination includes racist abuse, denied hours or worse shifts, record each incident and date now. The deadline can run from the act complained of, or the end of continuing conduct. The EHRC can explain discrimination rights; it cannot file your ET1 or stop the tribunal clock.

Fees, costs and settling along the way

Filing a tribunal claim costs no fee. You may still have travel, document and advice costs. Representation is not automatically funded; ask a union, advice service or legal expenses insurer whether they can help.

Ask your union about representation and legal services. If you are not a member, Citizens Advice or a local law centre may help you assess the claim. A tribunal is free to file in, but getting time off, travel and advice can still cost money.

There is no general loser-pays rule. The tribunal can order costs for unreasonable or vexatious conduct, a claim with no reasonable prospect, or breach of orders (rules 74-82). A deposit order is a warning, not an automatic bill for the opponent’s entire legal costs.

Acas can conciliate even after you file. An Acas COT3 is a binding settlement arranged through a conciliator; a statutory settlement agreement requires conditions including independent advice. Check the terms and which claims they cover before you agree. Do not assume an informal exchange of emails has the same effect. Read our settlement agreement guide before waiving a claim.

Losing, winning, appealing and enforcing

If you want to challenge a decision, read the written judgment and EAT appeal guidance promptly. The usual appeal period is 42 days from the relevant judgment or written reasons, depending on how and when reasons were requested. The Employment Appeal Tribunal deals with errors of law, not a fresh hearing just because you disagree with a witness.

An award is not paid automatically. GOV.UK says not to start enforcement if the respondent has appealed or is about to appeal; the appeal window is usually 42 days. In England and Wales, the Fast Track scheme uses form EX727 and costs £71, added to the debt; county court enforcement is another route. In Scotland, request an extract of the judgment and use a sheriff officer. The Fair Work Agency can warn a non-paying respondent and may issue a penalty payable to the state, not to you. The penalty can be 50% of the unpaid award, subject to a £100 minimum and £5,000 maximum; it is not a substitute for collecting your own award.

1. 6 Jan 2025In force: Procedure Rules 2024

   The 2013 Rules were revoked.

2. 1 Dec 2025In force: Acas window up to 12 weeks

   Applies to notifications submitted from this date.

3. 6 Apr 2026In force: new award limits

   Week’s pay limit £751; ordinary compensatory cap £123,543 or 52 weeks’ pay if lower. New Vento bands apply to claims presented from this date.

4. 1 Oct 2026In force: most GB claim limits become six months

   Relevant dates before 1 October generally retain the old three-month limit; Scottish tribunal contract claims change separately on 9 November.

5. 1 Jan 2027Scheduled: ordinary unfair dismissal reforms

   For dismissals from this date the qualifying period is set to fall from two years to six months and the ordinary compensatory cap is set to end. Neither change is in force on 1 October 2026.