The route — grievance to hearing, step by step
A tribunal claim is not one leap — it’s a short ladder, and most disputes settle on one of the early rungs:
| Step | What happens |
|---|
| 1 · Raise it at work first | Usually a formal grievance (or an appeal against dismissal). Not a legal requirement before claiming — but tribunals can adjust compensation by up to 25% where the ACAS Code was unreasonably ignored, and it often fixes things without a claim. |
| 2 · Notify ACAS | Mandatory early conciliation before almost any claim. Free, via the ACAS online form or 0300 123 1100. Notifying pauses the time limit. ACAS conciliates for up to 12 weeks (extended from 6 weeks for notifications on or after 1 December 2025). |
| 3 · The certificate | If there’s no settlement (or either side declines to talk), ACAS issues an early conciliation certificate with a reference number. You cannot lodge a claim without it. |
| 4 · Lodge the ET1 | The claim form, submitted free online via GOV.UK, quoting the ACAS certificate number — before your (paused) deadline runs out. |
| 5 · The ET3 | The tribunal sends your claim to the employer, who has 28 days to respond on form ET3. No response can mean judgment against them. |
| 6 · Hearing | Case management orders, document exchange, witness statements, then the hearing — often by video. Less formal than a court: no wigs, and you can represent yourself. Settlement stays possible right up to the door. |
It is free — and staying freeTribunal fees were abolished in 2017 when the Supreme Court ruled them unlawful (
R (UNISON) v Lord Chancellor). A 2024 consultation floated bringing a fee back — but the government confirmed in 2026 that
employment tribunals will remain free. Anyone charging you a “tribunal filing fee” is not the tribunal — run it through
Scam Check.
The deadline — 3 months less a day, and how ACAS stops the clock
Most claims — unfair dismissal, discrimination, detriment, whistleblowing, unlawful deductions — must be started within 3 months less one day of the act you’re complaining about: the date the dismissal took effect, the discriminatory act, or the deduction. Two exceptions get longer: statutory redundancy pay and equal pay claims have 6 months.
How the pause works
- The clock stops the day after you notify ACAS and restarts the day you receive the early conciliation certificate — the whole conciliation period is added back onto your deadline.
- Safety net: if you notified ACAS with less than a month left, you always get at least one month from the day you receive the certificate to lodge the ET1.
- The pause only helps if you notify ACAS before the original deadline — it cannot revive a limit that has already expired.
The deadline is brutal — don’t wait for the grievance outcomeThree months less a day passes frighteningly fast, and a pending grievance, appeal or “ongoing internal process” does not pause it. Tribunals only extend time where it was “not reasonably practicable” to claim (or, in discrimination cases, where it’s “just and equitable”) — both are hard tests. The safe pattern: raise the grievance and notify ACAS in parallel. Notifying ACAS costs nothing, commits you to nothing, and protects the deadline while you talk.
Never sit on the ACAS notificationMissing the deadline is usually fatal to the claim, however strong it is — late claims are rarely accepted. If you think you might claim, notify ACAS now, even while you’re still deciding. It’s a short online form. You can always settle, withdraw or simply not proceed — but nobody can un-miss a limitation date.
Coming change — 6 months from 1 October 2026The Employment Rights Act 2025 extends most tribunal time limits from 3 months to 6 months — but only where the act complained of happens on or after 1 October 2026. Anything before that date keeps the 3-months-less-a-day rule, so treat 3 months as the deadline unless a specialist confirms otherwise.
Compensation — what a tribunal can actually award
For unfair dismissal, awards come in two parts:
- Basic award — the same age-banded formula as statutory redundancy pay: half a week’s pay per full year under 22, one week for years 22–40, one-and-a-half weeks for years at 41+, service capped at 20 years, and a week’s pay capped at £751 (from 6 April 2026) — so the maximum is £22,530.
- Compensatory award — your actual financial loss (lost earnings, benefits, pension, job-search costs), capped at the lower of £123,543 (dismissals on or after 6 April 2026) or 52 weeks’ gross pay. You must try to reduce your loss by looking for work (“mitigation”).
Discrimination and whistleblowing awards are uncapped — they compensate the full loss plus injury to feelings. And the caps themselves are on borrowed time: the Employment Rights Act 2025 is due to remove the compensatory-award cap for dismissals from 2027 (check GOV.UK for the current figure — it changes every 6 April). A tribunal can also order reinstatement or re-engagement, though money is far more common. Tribunal awards are enforceable, and unpaid awards can be registered for enforcement plus a penalty on the employer.
Costs protection — the tribunal’s quiet kindnessUnlike the civil courts, the tribunal’s default is that each side pays its own costs, win or lose. Losing does not normally mean paying your employer’s lawyers. Costs orders are exceptional — mainly for claims pursued vexatiously or unreasonably, or wholly hopeless cases pressed on after warnings. Bring an honest claim honestly and the realistic downside is your time, not a legal bill.
Settling — COT3s and settlement agreements
Most claims never reach a hearing. There are two binding ways to settle:
- COT3 — a settlement reached through the ACAS conciliator, recorded on a COT3 form. Legally binding once agreed, no independent adviser required.
- Settlement agreement — a written deal (often with a tax-free termination payment up to £30,000) that only binds you once you’ve had independent legal advice on it — the employer normally pays the adviser’s fee.
Settling is not giving up — a certain payment now is often worth more than an uncertain award in a year. But never sign anything away without advice, and never let settlement talks run you past the claim deadline: notify ACAS and keep the clock protected while you negotiate.
Thinking of claiming — what to do now
You don’t need a lawyer to start — you need the date and the ACAS reference:
- Write down the date of the act — dismissal date, the discriminatory act, the short payday — and diary 3 months less a day from it (6 months for redundancy pay / equal pay).
- Notify ACAS for early conciliation — the free online form on acas.org.uk, or 0300 123 1100. This pauses the clock.
- Gather your paper trail — contract, payslips, the dismissal or grievance letters, emails, notes of meetings with dates. Tribunals run on documents.
- Get free advice — ACAS, Citizens Advice, a law centre, or your union rep if you have one. For complex discrimination or high-value claims, consider a specialist via Find a professional — many work no-win-no-fee.
Do this now
Note the date of the act and count 3 months less one day — that is your deadline. If there is any chance you’ll claim, notify ACAS today: it’s free, it commits you to nothing, and it is the only thing that pauses the clock. Grievances, appeals and “we’re looking into it” do not.
Got a letter from your employer you don’t understand? Put it through Decode. Need the grievance written first? Use the Letter Machine. This is general information, not legal advice — for advice on your own case, contact ACAS (0300 123 1100) or Citizens Advice (free).
Scotland & Northern Ireland
- Scotland is covered by the same employment tribunal system as England and Wales (with Scottish tribunal offices and some procedural differences), and ACAS early conciliation applies there too.
- Northern Ireland has its own separate system — industrial tribunals (and the Fair Employment Tribunal), with conciliation through the Labour Relations Agency rather than ACAS, and its own time limits and forms. Start at nidirect and the LRA if you work in NI.
Related guides — work & rights
Source verification
Primary sources: GOV.UK — Employment tribunals (
gov.uk) and ACAS — Early conciliation & making a claim to an employment tribunal (
acas.org.uk). Last verified 3 July 2026 — tribunal claims are
free to bring: fees abolished 2017 (
R (UNISON) v Lord Chancellor, Supreme Court); the January 2024 MoJ consultation on reintroducing a fee was not taken forward and the government confirmed in 2026 that tribunals remain free. Mandatory ACAS early conciliation with the period
extended to up to 12 weeks for notifications on or after 1 December 2025 (Employment Tribunals (Early Conciliation: Exemptions and Rules of Procedure) (Amendment) Regulations 2025); the EC certificate requirement; the stop-the-clock mechanics (pause from the day after notification to receipt of the certificate, minimum one month from the certificate where under a month remained). Time limits: 3 months less a day for most claims, 6 months for statutory redundancy pay and equal pay; the Employment Rights Act 2025 extension of most limits to 6 months applies only to acts
on or after 1 October 2026 (stated as a dated coming change, not current law). Compensation: week’s pay cap
£751 and basic-award/redundancy maximum
£22,530; compensatory award cap
£123,543 or 52 weeks’ gross pay if lower (Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2026, dismissals on or after 6 April 2026 — uprates every 6 April, check GOV.UK); discrimination and whistleblowing uncapped; the ERA 2025’s planned removal of the compensatory cap from 2027 stated as announced-not-in-force. ET3 response window 28 days (Employment Tribunal Procedure Rules — stable procedural rule). Costs: each side normally bears its own; costs orders exceptional. Confidence: High on fees, EC mechanics, current limits and the April-2026 figures (checked against multiple employment-law summaries of the 2026 Order); the 2027 cap removal and October-2026 time-limit dates are implementation timetables and could move — flagged as such. Scope: England, Wales & Scotland (one tribunal system); Northern Ireland’s separate industrial-tribunal system and Labour Relations Agency conciliation stated qualitatively. Not legal advice.
Employment tribunals — common questions
How much does it cost to take my employer to a tribunal?
Nothing to bring the claim — fees were abolished in 2017 and the government confirmed in 2026 they are staying gone. You can represent yourself, and each side normally pays its own legal costs win or lose. The realistic costs are your time, and a solicitor only if you choose one (many offer no-win-no-fee for strong claims).
Do I have to go through ACAS first?
Yes — early conciliation is mandatory before almost any claim. You notify ACAS (free, online or 0300 123 1100), they offer conciliation for up to 12 weeks, and if there’s no settlement they issue the certificate you must quote on the ET1. Notifying also pauses your time limit.
What’s the deadline for claiming?
Usually 3 months less one day from the act — the dismissal, the discriminatory act, the deduction. Redundancy pay and equal pay claims get 6 months. From 1 October 2026, most limits extend to 6 months under the Employment Rights Act 2025 — but only for acts on or after that date.
How much could I win?
Unfair dismissal: a basic award (redundancy formula, max £22,530) plus a compensatory award for actual loss, capped at the lower of £123,543 or 52 weeks’ gross pay (from 6 April 2026). Discrimination and whistleblowing claims are uncapped. Most claims settle before a hearing — often via an ACAS COT3.
Will I have to pay my employer’s costs if I lose?
Almost never. Tribunals are not like civil courts — the default is each side bears its own costs, and costs orders are exceptional (vexatious or hopeless claims pressed on after warnings). An honest claim brought honestly does not carry a realistic legal-bill risk.