In This Guide
What is an Employment Tribunal?
An Employment Tribunal is a specialist judicial body established under the Employment Tribunals Act 1996 to resolve disputes between employees (or workers) and employers. Unlike the County Court or High Court, Employment Tribunals are specifically designed to be more accessible to individuals without legal representation, although employers are almost always legally represented.
Tribunals are part of HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) and hear cases across England, Wales, and Scotland (Northern Ireland has its own system). As of September 2025, there are over 515,000 open claims in the system, with receipts increasing by 33% year on year. This demonstrates both rising workplace disputes and the accessibility of the tribunal process.
Tribunals hear cases about:
- Unfair dismissal (Employment Rights Act 1996, Part X), the most common claim type at 23.7% of all claims
- Discrimination (Equality Act 2010), covering nine protected characteristics and making up 35.4% of total claims
- Whistleblowing / protected disclosures (ERA 1996, Part IVA), up 16% year on year
- Unauthorised deduction from wages (ERA 1996, s.13), representing 12.2% of claims
- Breach of contract on termination only, under the Employment Tribunals Extension of Jurisdiction Order 1994
- Redundancy payments (ERA 1996, Part XI)
- Working time and holiday pay (Working Time Regulations 1998)
- Equal pay (Equality Act 2010, ss.64–80)
- TUPE complaints (Transfer of Undertakings Regulations 2006)
A panel of three people typically hears your case: an Employment Judge (legally qualified, appointed by the Lord Chancellor) and two lay members (one with experience of representing employers, one with experience of representing employees). For simpler cases such as wages claims or straightforward unfair dismissal, a judge may sit alone.
Important: Employment Rights Act 2025
The Employment Rights Act 2025 has received Royal Assent. A key change is that the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal claims will reduce from 2 years to 6 months, expected to take effect in 2026. This will give millions more workers access to unfair dismissal protection. Check gov.uk for the latest implementation timeline.
Types of Tribunal Claims
Understanding your claim type is crucial. It affects your time limits, evidence requirements, and potential compensation.
Unfair Dismissal (ERA 1996, Part X)
Your employer dismissed you without a potentially fair reason (capability, conduct, redundancy, statutory restriction, or "some other substantial reason") or failed to follow a fair procedure (ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures).
Service requirement: Currently 2 years' continuous service (reducing to 6 months under the Employment Rights Act 2025). Exceptions include automatically unfair dismissals (pregnancy, whistleblowing, asserting a statutory right) which have no service requirement.
Discrimination (Equality Act 2010)
Less favourable treatment because of a protected characteristic: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation. This covers direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, harassment, and victimisation.
No service requirement. This is a "day one" right. Compensation is uncapped and includes injury to feelings (Vento bands, updated annually).
Whistleblowing (ERA 1996, Part IVA)
Detriment or dismissal for making a "qualifying disclosure", such as reporting criminal offences, breaches of legal obligations, health and safety dangers, environmental damage, or cover ups. The disclosure must be made in the public interest.
No service requirement. Compensation for automatic unfair dismissal for whistleblowing is uncapped. Claims are up 16% year on year (HMCTS Q3 2025).
Wages & Deductions (ERA 1996, s.13)
Unlawful deductions from wages, unpaid holiday pay (under the Working Time Regulations 1998), unpaid notice pay, or failure to pay the National Minimum Wage. You can claim up to 2 years' back pay for holiday and wages claims.
No service requirement. Makes up 12.2% of all tribunal claims.
Constructive Dismissal
Where you resign because your employer fundamentally breached your contract (Western Excavating v Sharp [1978]). You must show: (1) the employer committed a repudiatory breach, (2) you resigned in response to that breach, and (3) you did not delay too long ("affirm" the breach) before resigning.
Service requirement: Same as unfair dismissal (currently 2 years, unless the breach relates to discrimination or another automatically unfair reason).
How Belonge Identifies Your Claim Type
Belonge's free assessment asks targeted questions to identify:
Example result: "Your situation indicates potential pregnancy discrimination (Equality Act 2010, s.18). This is automatically unfair with no 2 year service required. Deadline: 15 March 2026."
Who Can Make a Claim?
Employment status determines which claims you can bring. The tribunal applies a legal test, not just what your contract says.
Employees: Full Protection
Can bring all claim types including unfair dismissal and redundancy. An employee has a contract of employment with mutual obligations, employer control, and personal service. Even if your contract says "self employed", the tribunal looks at the reality (Autoclenz Ltd v Belcher [2011]).
Workers: Partial Protection
Protected under the Equality Act 2010 (discrimination), Working Time Regulations 1998 (holiday pay), and ERA 1996 s.13 (unlawful deductions). Includes agency workers, zero hours contract holders, and some gig economy workers. Cannot claim unfair dismissal.
Day One Rights (No Service Requirement)
The following claims can be brought from your first day: all forms of discrimination, whistleblowing detriment, unlawful deductions from wages, breach of contract (on termination), holiday pay, and automatically unfair dismissals (pregnancy/maternity, asserting a statutory right, health & safety activities).
Qualifying Service for Unfair Dismissal
Currently requires 2 years' continuous employment. The Employment Rights Act 2025 will reduce this to 6 months (expected 2026). Note: continuous service includes periods of sickness, maternity leave, and secondments. A gap in employment may break continuity, so check your specific dates carefully.
Automatically Unfair Dismissal: No Service Required
Certain dismissal reasons are automatically unfair regardless of length of service: pregnancy or maternity (ERA 1996, s.99), making a protected disclosure / whistleblowing (s.103A), asserting a statutory right (s.104), health and safety activities (s.100), jury service (s.98B), exercising the right to request flexible working, or trade union membership and activities (TULRCA 1992, s.152). If any of these apply, you do NOT need 2 years' service.
Time Limits (Critical!)
This is where most people lose their cases before they even start. Miss your deadline and your claim is likely to be rejected, regardless of how strong it is.
Tribunal time limit
Acas states that time limits for employment tribunal claims increased from 3 months to 6 months on 1 October 2026. The 3 month limit may still apply to problems that started before 1 October 2026. Check your deadline early and seek advice. This deadline is calculated from the incident date (or last incident in a continuing act).
Never Miss Your Deadline with Belonge
Belonge automatically:
"I almost missed my deadline organizing everything in spreadsheets. Belonge's reminders saved me."
Sarah, Manchester
Discrimination claim
The Tribunal Process
Understanding each stage helps you prepare and reduces anxiety about what's coming.
ACAS Early Conciliation
Up to 6 weeksMandatory step. ACAS will try to help resolve your dispute before tribunal.
Submit ET1 Claim Form
Must meet deadlineFile your formal claim with the Employment Tribunal. Detailed grounds required.
Employer's Response (ET3)
28 daysYour employer responds to your claim, setting out their defence.
Case Management
VariesPreliminary hearing to set directions, clarify issues, agree timelines.
Disclosure & Witness Statements
Several weeksBoth sides exchange documents and prepare witness statements.
Final Hearing
1 to 5+ daysPresent your case, examine witnesses, closing submissions.
How Belonge Guides You Through Each Step
Belonge's guided journey matches tribunal stages:
Workspace users save an average of 15 hours vs. manual preparation.
Ready to Start Your Case?
Join over 500 UK employees who have used Belonge to prepare their tribunal claims.
Gathering Evidence
Your case lives or dies by your evidence. The tribunal will make findings of fact based on what you can prove, not what you believe happened.
Types of Evidence
Documents
Emails, letters, contracts, policies, meeting notes, payslips
Communications
Text messages, WhatsApp, Teams/Slack messages, voicemails
Witnesses
Colleagues who saw events, can corroborate your account
Contemporaneous Notes
Notes made at the time of events. These are highly persuasive
Important: Don't Delay
Evidence disappears. Witnesses forget. Emails get deleted. Start documenting immediately, even before you know if you'll make a claim.
How Belonge Organizes Your Evidence
Instead of scattered emails and notes, Belonge's evidence tracker provides:
Users report saving 10+ hours organizing evidence vs. spreadsheets.
Success Rates & Compensation
Understanding realistic outcomes helps you make informed decisions. These figures are based on HMCTS Tribunal Statistics (Q3 2025) and the Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2025.
515k
Open claims in the system (Sep 2025)
+33%
Year on year increase in open cases
26k
New claims per quarter (Q3 2025)
Compensation Limits (from 6 April 2025)
These figures are set by the Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2026 (SI 2026/310) and apply to claims where the effective date falls on or after 6 April 2026.
Used to calculate the basic award and statutory redundancy pay (previously £719)
Formula: (years of service × age multiplier × £751). Capped at 20 years and max weekly pay. Age bands: under 22 = 0.5 week per year; 22–40 = 1 week; 41+ = 1.5 weeks
The lower of 52 weeks' gross pay or the statutory cap (previously £118,223). Covers loss of earnings, benefits, and pension
No statutory cap. Includes financial loss AND injury to feelings (Vento bands, updated annually by the Presidents of Employment Tribunals)
For dismissals related to health & safety, employee representative, trade union, or pension trustee reasons (previously £8,763)
Injury to Feelings (Vento Bands)
In discrimination, harassment, and victimisation cases, the tribunal awards compensation for "injury to feelings" using three bands described in Vento v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police [2002]:
Less serious one off incidents or isolated events
Cases that do not merit an award in the upper band (most discrimination claims)
The most serious cases, such as a lengthy campaign of harassment. Only the most exceptional cases exceed the top of this band
How Belonge Increases Your Success Chances
Strong cases have organized evidence, contemporaneous notes, clear timeline, and legal understanding. Belonge ensures all of these:
"Belonge's AI told me I needed my email where my boss admitted the reason. I found it, and that won my case."
James, Birmingham
Unfair dismissal, £12,000 award
How to Prepare Your Case
Preparation is everything. The tribunal expects you to know your case inside out—even if you're representing yourself.
Manual Prep vs. Belonge Prep
Manual Process
- •Scattered emails across folders
- •Notes in different places (phone, notebook, Google Docs)
- •Trying to remember dates months later
- •Googling 'what evidence do I need for tribunal'
- •Re-reading all emails to find key ones
- •Manually typing timeline into Word
- •Forgetting witnesses' contact details
Average time: 25 to 40 hours
Risk: Missing critical evidence
Belonge Process
- One place for everything (cloud-based, accessible anywhere)
- Evidence tracker with automatic timeline
- Upload emails/docs once, tag and search later
- AI tells you what evidence you need
- Auto-generates timeline in ET1 format
- Witness contact tracking built-in
- Reminders to document incidents as they happen
Average time: 10 to 15 hours (60% savings)
More organized = stronger case
"I saved £3,000+ on solicitor fees using Belonge. The AI answered all my questions about discrimination law."
Michelle, Glasgow
Race discrimination claim
Prepare for ACAS with Belonge AI
Our AI (trained on ERA 1996, Equality Act 2010, 12,000+ cases) helps you:
Free users get 3 AI questions/month. Plus users get 50 questions/month. Premium users get 200 questions/month.
Frequently Asked Questions
Take Action on Your Tribunal Claim Today
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FREE Assessment
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Not sure which option? Start with the free assessment. Over 500 UK employees have used Belonge to prepare tribunal claims.