This information should not be relied upon as legal or professional advice. Read the disclaimer.

How is employment law enforced?

This briefing only provides information on employment tribunals in Great Britain, as employment law is devolved in Northern Ireland. The Industrial Tribunals and the Fair Employment Tribunal webpage provides information on the process in Northern Ireland.

Legislation, individual employment contracts, and common law establish employment rights. Employees can use employment tribunals to take action against employers who breach their employment rights.

Acas (the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) is a public body which provides help and support on employment matters, including as part of the employment tribunal process. It is independent from the tribunal service.

The role of MPs

MPs have no formal role in the employment tribunal system but can support their constituents by signposting them to this briefing and appropriate sources of legal advice.

The UK Parliament webpage Who should I contact with my issue? notes that “MPs cannot interfere in court decisions and are unlikely to be able to help with private disputes” including between workers and their employer.

The Library briefing Legal advice and help in employment matters signposts to relevant sources of support.

Who can make a claim through an employment tribunal?

Both workers and employees can access the employment tribunal system. Workers and employees have different employment rights due to their different employment statuses:

  • Employees work under a contract of employment and have a full set of employment rights including protection against unfair dismissal and access to maternity leave and pay.
  • Workers (also known as ‘limb (b) workers’) work for an organisation but do not have a contract of employment. Workers have access to some employment rights such as holiday pay and the National Minimum Wage.

More information on employment status is available in gov.uk guidance and the Commons Library briefing Employment Status.

Self-employed people have no recourse to the employment tribunal system. It is not always clear whether someone is a worker or genuinely self-employed. Acas can answer questions about employment status through its helpline, although in recent years many such determinations have been made by employment tribunals and the courts.

When can a claim be made to an employment tribunal?

Employees and workers can make a claim if they think they have been treated unlawfully at work by their employer, potential employer or trade union. Unlawful treatment includes, among other things, unfair dismissal, discrimination at work, breach of contract or unauthorised deductions from pay.

There are strict time limits to making a claim, with very few exceptions. These are:

  • three months minus 1 day for most claims
  • six months minus 1 day for claims about redundancy pay, equal pay, unfair dismissal related to strike action, certain claims against a trade union, and certain claims for members of the armed forces

From 1 October 2026, the time limit for most claims will increase to six months.

It is the responsibility of the claimant to make sure their claim against their employer (or respondent) is made in time. If the time limit passes, a claimant can still register a claim. An employment tribunal judge will decide whether to accept it.

Claimants can contact Acas for advice if the time limit has passed.

What to do before making a claim to an employment tribunal

Before making a claim to an employment tribunal, employees and workers should:

  • Access work-based informal or formal grievance procedures
  • Contact Acas and consider early conciliation

The diagram below summarises the employment tribunal process:

A summary of the employment tribunal process

Work-based grievance procedures

Workers and employees should try to raise problems directly with employers, either informally or via a formal grievance procedure. Acas has published more information on how grievance procedures should work. If no formal grievance procedure is in place, the employer must as a minimum follow the Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures.

An employment tribunal will look at whether informal and formal stages were completed. The tribunal will consider genuine reasons for not doing so (such as fear of dealing with the employer in a case of harassment).

Early conciliation

Workers need to tell Acas that they may want to make an employment tribunal claim. Acas will offer them early conciliation. This aims to help resolve issues before proceeding with an employment tribunal. The time limit for a claim is put on hold during early conciliation when an employee initiates this process. The time limit is not put on hold if the request for early conciliation comes from the employer rather than the employee.

A claimant can represent themselves during early conciliation, or someone else can represent them, such as a friend, union official or lawyer.

If agreement is reached during early conciliation, it will be recorded in a conciliation agreement (called a COT3 form). Once agreed, this is legally binding even before it has been signed; and the case cannot then be taken to a tribunal. An Acas early conciliation settlement can be enforced if needed, either with help from Acas or via a High Court Enforcement Officer.

If agreement is not reached, Acas will issue an early conciliation certificate, which gives a minimum of one calendar month from the date the certificate is received for the claimant to make a claim to an employment tribunal.

How to make a claim

The claimant should use the government’s claim form (known as the ‘ET1 form’) to take a case to an employment tribunal. The form should clearly set out what the complaint is about. There are no fees for making a claim, but claimants may incur other costs such as legal fees if they are using a lawyer, or expert witness expenses.

What happens after a claim is made?

The respondent can ask the claimant for more information to help them understand the claim. The respondent must reply within 28 days, but they can ask the employment tribunal for more time, for example if a key witness isn’t available. If the employer doesn’t respond within 28 days (and doesn’t have an extension), the tribunal may decide on the case without a full hearing.

After the employer responds, the employment tribunal will decide whether to hold a full hearing. A preliminary hearing may also be held.

The claimant and the respondent can ask each other to provide documents they need to prepare. This could include for example, a copy of the employment contract, or notes from relevant meetings.

Acas can still provide support to reach an agreement at this stage. After a claim has been made this is called ‘conciliation’ (rather than early conciliation). Conciliation can continue during an employment tribunal.

The tribunal hearing

Employment tribunals are either heard by employment judges sitting alone, or a panel consisting of an employment judge and two non-legal members.

Claimants and respondents should ensure they have prepared beforehand.

A claimant can have a representative, such as a friend or a lawyer, or they can represent themselves. The claimant’s case will usually be presented first, and the respondent will then present their evidence.

Both parties can be asked questions by the judge or panel members and the other party. The tribunal judge or panel then reaches a decision, which will be sent after the hearing and is published on GOV.UK.

After the employment tribunal

If a claimant wins, the tribunal can order the employer to take action, which can include paying compensation, paying some costs, improving working conditions or giving the claimant their job back. The respondent has 42 days to appeal.

If an award of compensation isn’t received, the claimant can ask a court to enforce payment. In England or Wales, a claimant can ask for a High Court enforcement officer (similar to a bailiff) to demand payment. A claimant can also ask the local County Court to send an enforcement officer. In Scotland, a claimant can ask the tribunal office that heard the case to send an ‘extract of the judgement’, which a sheriff officer can use to force payment.

If a claimant loses, they have 14 days to appeal. They must write to the tribunal office stating their reasons for the case to be reconsidered. They can also appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal if they think there has been a legal mistake.

Further information

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