Guide
Respond to an employment tribunal claim
What to do when a current or former employee brings an employment tribunal claim against your business. Covers Acas early conciliation, the ET3 response, preparing for a hearing, and deciding whether to settle or defend.
Employment tribunals hear claims from employees and workers about their employment rights — unfair dismissal, discrimination, unlawful deduction of wages, whistleblowing, and breach of contract. If a claim is brought against your business, you must respond properly and within strict deadlines or risk a default judgment.
Most claims are resolved before reaching a hearing. Understanding the process helps you make informed decisions about whether to settle early or defend the claim.
Stage 1: Acas early conciliation
Before a claimant can submit a tribunal claim, they must contact Acas for early conciliation. Acas will contact you to see if the dispute can be resolved without a hearing.
Early conciliation is free and confidential. Anything said during conciliation cannot be used as evidence at tribunal. You are not obliged to participate, but it is often worth engaging — 69% of cases do not progress to tribunal after early conciliation.
If conciliation succeeds, Acas draws up a COT3 agreement that is legally binding on both parties. If it fails, Acas issues an early conciliation certificate and the claimant can then submit their tribunal claim.
Time limits for claims
Claimants must bring their claim within strict time limits. Understanding these helps you assess whether a claim is in time and how long you remain exposed after an employee leaves.
A claim submitted after the time limit will usually be rejected unless the tribunal considers it was not reasonably practicable to submit in time (for most claims) or that it is just and equitable to extend time (for discrimination claims). Discrimination claims are more likely to be allowed late.
Costs and awards
Employment tribunals do not normally award costs — each side pays their own legal fees regardless of the outcome. However, the tribunal can award costs if a party has acted vexatiously, abusively, disruptively, or otherwise unreasonably, or if the claim or response had no reasonable prospect of success.
If you lose, awards vary significantly by claim type:
- Unfair dismissal: basic award (based on age, service, and weekly pay) plus compensatory award (capped at the lower of 12 months' pay or the statutory cap — except for automatically unfair dismissals, which are uncapped)
- Discrimination: uncapped compensation including injury to feelings (Vento bands range from around £1,100 to £56,200+)
- Unlawful deduction of wages: the amount deducted plus interest
Failure to follow the Acas Code of Practice on discipline and grievance can result in a 25% uplift to any tribunal award. Following the Code properly is one of the most effective ways to reduce your risk.