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You can make a claim to an employment tribunal if you think someone has treated you unlawfully, such as your employer, a potential employer or a trade union.听

Unlawful treatment can include:聽

• unfair dismissal
• discrimination at work
• breach of contract
• unauthorised deductions from your pay

The tribunal is independent of government. It will listen to you (the 鈥榗laimant鈥�) and the person or organisation you鈥檙e making a claim against (the 鈥榬espondent鈥�) before making a decision.

There鈥檚 a different way to .

Time limits

You usually have to make a claim within 3 months of your employment ending or the problem happening.

If you think you鈥檝e lost your job unfairly, the 3 month period begins from the date your employment ended.

If your claim is about discrimination or a dispute over pay, the 3 month period begins when the incident or dispute happened.

Before you make a claim to an employment tribunal, you must tell Acas (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service).

The time limit for making a claim is put on hold while Acas helps you resolve your dispute.

If you鈥檙e claiming for unfair dismissal

You may be able to apply to continue your paid employment (also known as 鈥榠nterim relief鈥�) until the case is decided.

You can only apply for interim relief in a few situations. These include if you鈥檝e been dismissed for:聽

• trade union activities聽
• acting as a workers鈥� representation聽
• whistleblowing

You must make your claim within 7 days of being dismissed. You do not need to notify Acas, unless you鈥檙e also making other claims that do not involve applying for interim relief.

You can see if there鈥檚 another way to solve the problem before you make a claim to a tribunal, such as using a grievance procedure.听

Going through early conciliation with Acas

You must tell Acas (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) that you鈥檙e planning to make a claim.

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You鈥檒l be offered the chance to try and settle the dispute without going to tribunal by using Acas鈥檚 free .

If early conciliation does not work or you choose not to take part, Acas will send you an early conciliation certificate. Use this when you make a claim to the tribunal.听

Once you receive your certificate, you鈥檒l have at least one month left to make your claim.

If there鈥檚 more than one respondent, Acas will send you a certificate for each respondent.

if you have questions about how the early conciliation process works.

When you do not need to notify Acas

You do not have to notify Acas that you intend to make a claim if:

• you鈥檙e making the claim with another person who鈥檚 already been through early conciliation
• the respondent has already notified Acas - you鈥檒l need to provide evidence of this
• you鈥檙e only claiming for unfair dismissal and applying for interim relief as part of that claim - you鈥檒l need to go through early conciliation for any other claims you make at the same time
• Acas does not have the power to conciliate on some or all of your claim

If you鈥檙e unsure, notify Acas before making a claim to the tribunal.

Get legal help

You may want to get legal help or advice if you鈥檙e or before you make your claim.

You could also get free legal advice from:

• , if you live in England or Wales
• , if you live in Scotland
• , if you live in England or Wales
• , if you live in England or Wales
• , if you live in England or Wales

If your claim is about discrimination, you may be able to:

• get free legal advice from the
• get legal aid to pay for legal advice

You can make a claim:

• for yourself, as the only person claiming
• for yourself and others who鈥檝e been treated in the same way
• for someone else, if you鈥檙e acting as their representative

You鈥檒l usually need an early conciliation certificate for each respondent before you make a claim. You can get these from Acas (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service).

If you have a disability or health condition that could affect you taking part in a hearing, you can let the tribunal know you鈥檒l need reasonable adjustments. Tell the tribunal if you need adjustments when you make your claim or at any time during the claim process.

You should also read the guidance for whistleblowing if it relates to your claim.

What it costs

You do not have to pay a fee to make a claim to an employment tribunal.

You may have to pay other costs, for example:

• witness expenses
• the costs of the people or organisations you鈥檙e claiming against (the 鈥榬espondents鈥�) if the tribunal decides you鈥檝e acted unreasonably

Make a claim online

Before you start, you鈥檒l need:

• the names and addresses of all the people making the claim (the 鈥榗laimants鈥�)
• the names and addresses of the respondents - you can find this in your job offer letter, your employment contract or your payslips
• your Acas early conciliation certificate numbers

If you鈥檝e already started a claim

You can to continue your application or view your submitted applications.

Make a claim by post

You can also download and fill in a claim form.

Send your completed form to one of the following addresses, depending on where you were working.

If you need help applying

Who you contact depends on the type of help you need.

If you鈥檙e having technical issues or need guidance about how to claim

Call the employment tribunal customer contact centre.

If you do not have access to the internet or do not feel confident using it

The respondent usually has to reply to your claim in writing within 28 days of getting your claim form. They will give their side of the case.

Once they鈥檝e replied, the tribunal will decide whether there will be a full hearing to decide your case.

If they do not reply, the tribunal may decide your case without you having to go to a hearing.

Attend a preliminary hearing

You may be asked to go to an initial hearing (called a preliminary hearing) in person, or by phone or video. After hearing from both sides, the judge will decide on things like:

• whether part or all of your claim can go ahead
• the date and time of a hearing
• how long the hearing should take
• how you and the respondent will need to prepare for the full hearing

Share documents

You鈥檒l have to share any relevant documents with the respondent and the tribunal, even if they do not help your case. The respondent will have to do the same.

Examples of relevant documents could include:

• a contract of employment
• pay slips
• details of your pension scheme
• notes from relevant meetings you attended at work

If you think the respondent has not shared all their relevant documents with you and the tribunal, you can ask the tribunal to order them to share the documents.

Usually the tribunal will issue an order setting out a timetable for when you should share documents before the hearing.

You鈥檒l also get a letter telling you how many copies of each document to bring to the hearing.

Organise witnesses

You can bring witnesses to the hearing if they can give evidence directly relevant to your case.

If you ask a witness to attend and they do not want to, you can ask the tribunal dealing with your case to order them to come. Contact the tribunal in writing, giving:

• the name and address of the witness

• details of what the witness may be able to say and how it will help your case

• the reason the witness has refused to attend (if they gave you one)

If your witness is outside the UK and wants to give live video or audio evidence, contact the tribunal dealing with your case as soon as possible to request it. Tell the tribunal what country they鈥檙e in and what type of evidence they鈥檙e giving.

If you settle your dispute

If you reach an agreement through Acas (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service), they will usually tell the tribunal. The Acas conciliator will explain if you need to do anything.

If you settle your dispute privately, you must contact the tribunal dealing with your case to tell them.

If you want to withdraw all or part of your claim

You must contact the tribunal in writing.

You鈥檒l normally get at least 14 days鈥� notice of the date and time of your hearing.

Cases are normally held at the employment tribunal office closest to where you worked. The tribunal will contact you and tell you if your hearing will take place by phone, video or in person.

You must have all the documents you鈥檙e using to support your case with you. If your hearing is in person, you can take a colleague or someone else with you if you want. You can also have someone support you during a remote hearing.

If you or your witness or representative is outside the UK and wants to give live video or audio evidence, contact the tribunal to request it. Tell the tribunal what country you, the witness or representative is in and what type of evidence is being given. You must do this as soon as possible.

The tribunal does not pay your expenses for travelling to the hearing.

What happens at the hearing

You鈥檒l present your case to the tribunal - someone else can do this for you, for example , friend or family member. The respondent will present their case against you.

You鈥檒l normally give evidence first, unless your case is about unfair dismissal. You can also call witnesses to give evidence.

You will usually be asked questions by:

• the judge
• the respondent
• two other tribunal members (only in certain cases)

Get a decision

You鈥檒l be sent the decision a few days or weeks after the hearing. The decision will be published on 188体育. In certain cases you may also be given the decision at the hearing.

If you win your case, the tribunal can order the losing party to do certain things depending on the type of case. Examples include:

• paying you compensation
• paying you any witness expenses you鈥檝e paid
• taking steps to reduce the effects of discrimination against you
• giving you your job back, if appropriate

If you get compensation, the amount can depend on:

• the type of case - there are limits on certain cases
• how much money you鈥檝e lost because of the respondent鈥檚 actions
• your age, length of service and salary

If the respondent does not pay

If you do not get your payment, contact them to find out why.

If they still do not pay you can ask to have them fined and named online by the government. You can also ask a court to force them to pay.

You cannot do these things if the respondent has appealed, or is about to. They have 42 days to appeal.

Get the respondent fined and named online by the government

Use the penalty enforcement form. Post it to the address on the form or email it to the Department for Business and Trade.

The respondent will initially get a warning notice telling them they may be fined, and named online by the government.

If they do not pay the compensation within 28 days of this notice they鈥檒l have to pay a fine and may be named online by the government.

You can still get a court to force them to pay.

Forcing them to pay if you鈥檙e in England or Wales

You can use the Fast Track scheme to send a high court enforcement officer (similar to a bailiff) to demand payment from the respondent. It costs 拢71, which is added to the debt the respondent owes you.

Fill in the Fast Track Enforcement form (or an application to enforce an award form if your case was settled before a hearing) and send it to the address on the form.

You can also ask the local County Court to get the money from the respondent.

Fill in an application to enforce an award form and send it with a copy of the tribunal鈥檚 decision to your . They will review your application and register a County Court Judgment for debt.

The respondent will get an email or letter that explains the debt they owe and when they must pay it by.

If they do not respond by the deadline, fill in an application for a warrant form and send it to your . They will send a county court bailiff to get the money from the respondent. This costs 拢83, which is added to the debt the respondent owes you.

Forcing them to pay if you鈥檙e in Scotland

Write to the office that heard your case and ask for an 鈥榚xtract of the judgment鈥�. A can use this to force the respondent to pay.

You can ask the tribunal to reconsider the decision (or 鈥榡udgment鈥�) if you lose your case.

You must write to the tribunal office within 14 days of the written decision being sent to you, saying why you want it to be reconsidered.

You also need to give good reasons, for example:

• the tribunal made a mistake in the way it reached its decision
• you were not told about the hearing, or were not at the hearing
• there鈥檚 new evidence

Send your letter to the tribunal office that dealt with your case.

Appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal

You can also appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal if you think the employment tribunal made a legal mistake.

You can get a refund if you paid fees at an employment tribunal or employment appeals tribunal between 29 July 2013 and 26 July 2017.

How to apply

You can apply online if:

• you have not changed your name since you made the claim to the tribunal
• your claim was against one employer
• you have a UK bank account

Otherwise, you can apply by post or email.

You鈥檒l need to include how much you paid in tribunal fees.

Apply online

Use the service to .

Apply by email or post

The form you use depends on why you paid the fees.

Use form 1/2-CR if:

• you made the claim on your own and paid the fees
• a claim was brought against you and you were ordered to pay someone鈥檚 fees, or if you paid any other fees to the tribunal
• you were the 鈥榣ead claimant鈥� in a joint (鈥榤ultiple鈥�) claim for less than 11 people

Use form 3-S if:

• you paid the fees for someone else to make the claim
• you were the 鈥榣ead claimant鈥� in a joint (鈥榤ultiple鈥�) claim for over 10 people

Send your completed form by post or email to HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS).

Get help applying

Contact HMCTS if you need help applying or have questions about refunds.

Find out about call charges.

What happens next

If you鈥檙e entitled to a refund it鈥檒l be transferred to your bank account (plus 0.5% interest). You鈥檒l get a letter confirming the amount.

The employment tribunal follows rules and processes that you also have to follow.

You can also read other .

The tribunal has issued guidance and practice directions and which provide more information about specific areas, such as postponing hearings and serving documents.

You can also read guidance about .