The first stage in your case before the Employment Tribunal is the completion of the ET1 form. It is essential to get things correctly in order to assist you save time and avoid unnecessary trouble in the long run.

What is an ET1?

If you wish to file a legal claim to the Employment Tribunal over an issue pertaining to employment law, you will need to turn in a claim form known as an ET1. You may get a copy of the ET1 here or a submit the employment tribunal claim form et1 online.

Before submitting an ET1 claim form

You are required to make contact with ACAS, the public agency that may assist in the resolution of your claim via Early Conciliation, prior to submitting your claim. In this stage of the process, they take on the role of an impartial facilitator in an effort to determine whether or not the parties involved can reach a settlement without resorting to the Tribunal. You should contact ACAS by filling out the early conciliation form.

If you want to bring a claim to a tribunal, ACAS will provide you an Early Conciliation certificate automatically after one month after it concludes, the process. Because beginning early conciliation might prolong the period for bringing a claim, you may sometimes have more time than one month to submit your request. The early conciliation process might run for up to a month. If after this time settlement cannot be reached ACAS will give you a certificate or if your request it earlier.

In most circumstances, you may have attempted Early Conciliation and it did not work, or either you or your employer did not want to try Early Conciliation. However, in certain cases, you may not have tried Early Conciliation. You are need to insert the number from your Early Conciliation Certificate onto the claim form in order to demonstrate to the tribunal that you have made an effort to resolve the dispute via other means, namely through settlement. This will allow you to file your claim.

Time limits for making a Tribunal claim

Be mindful of the time limits set by the Tribunal. This is often three months and one day after the occurrence, or three months and one day after the most recent incidence if there been a string of incidents. Therefore, if you are considering filing a claim with the Tribunal, you should get in touch with ACAS as soon as possible and begin drafting your ET1 as soon as possible. It is conceivable that, in certain circumstances, you will be able to modify your ET1 after it has been filed; but, doing so may be challenging, and the judge may not always let you to do so.  Therefore, it is essential to get it done correctly the first time.

How to fill out the ET1

The majority of the ET1 form may be completed with a minimum of fuss. The most difficult component is Section 8, which deals with the "Type and Details of Claim." Using the ET1 Particulars of Claim template, I will be able to assist you in completing this section. You will be led step-by-step through the process of translating what took place into the language of legal claims by using our templates. This will assist you in developing the appropriate framework for your claim, which will increase the likelihood of its being successful.

If you do not have enough money to pay for a solicitor to handle your entire case (especially considering that even if you win, you won't be able to get your costs back from the Tribunal), but you do have enough money to pay for some advice, now might be a good time to consult me about your best chances of winning your case. This will help you understand things like the following:

• Were you subjected to discrimination because of a protected characteristic?

• Were you fired without cause or reason?

• Were people discriminated against in a direct or indirect manner?

• In the 8.1 section, you are going to lay out the legal claims that you are going to be making.

• How to approach Section 8.2

• This is where you give the background and details of why you are making your claim(s).

Many individuals append a second document to the form in order to compensate for the limited space that is available on the page for this component. In England and Wales, this kind of documentation is referred to as the Particulars of Claim. See the free templates for this.

Using the Particulars of Claim Template

You may simply put "Particulars of Claim" in section 8.2 if you want to create a second document in addition to the one you are currently working on. Because this is the very first piece of paper that will be reviewed by the Tribunal, you should take advantage of the opportunity to make a positive first impression and communicate your ideas clearly. Start with the word template that relates to your claim. You are free to use whatever word processor you choose, but keep in mind that if you intend to submit your claim electronically, it must be saved in Rich Text Format. The template uses the title 'Particulars of Claim' (in England and Wales) or 'Paper Apart' (in Scotland) for the document you are going to submit. At the very top of the paper, you should write your entire name as well as the full name of your employer in the spaces provided and as guided.

Our templates use:

• Headings throughout - this makes it much easier to read;

• Numbers your paragraphs - This will make the document easier to refer to in the future. Your word processor should be able to do this for you automatically when using the template.

• Have a sensible structure.

Structure of the Template

The Claimant - This is you. To begin, the template provides a concise summary of your position within the organisation as well as any other pertinent information.

The Respondent is often understood to refer to your employer; nevertheless, in cases of discrimination or detriment, it may also refer to a second respondent like a particular co-worker. Provide a concise factual description of the Respondent, including information such as what they do and where they have their base of operations.

Background - Then the template moves on to set out the background and details of your claim. You will have to fill this part in. Make an effort to complete this in the correct chronological sequence. There is no predetermined length for this, but you should make every effort to focus on the most important issues. A good rule of thumb would be to avoid include occurrences that date back many years, unless it can be shown that they were obviously connected to a persistent problem that is related to your claim.

Consider the evidence that is relevant to proving your point. For instance, if you are claiming that you were constructively fired, you will need to explain the major problems that existed in the time leading up to your departure. What role did each of them play in bringing about your resignation? what was the breach of the employment contract that made you leave. 

Legal claims – The sample document outlined all of the possible legal claims that you may make. You will need to utilise the information that is pertinent to you. Provide a clearer and more in-depth explanation of the arguments that you are making. For instance, if you picked "race discrimination" in Section 8.1, the tribunal would need to know if you believe this to be an example of direct or indirect discrimination. Describe the means by which you may comply with the law's most important requirements. For instance, if it's a case of harassment, you need to do the following:

• Please specify which of the nine protected characteristics served as the motivation for your harassing behaviour;

• Describe the undesirable conduct;

• Explain how it relates to the protected trait;

• Describe the effect the behaviour has had on you, and

• Explain how it produced an atmosphere that was "intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive."

Remedy - It is important to conclude your claim by stating to the Tribunal what it is that you want to come out of it. Take, for instance:

• Do you want reimbursement of back wages?

• An order that you be reinstated with your previous company,

• Damages for any emotional distress or injury to feelings caused by discrimination, and so on and so forth.

Details, Dates and time

It is very necessary for you to provide the dates of any significant events, as well as the times they occurred, if applicable. For instance, "I sent Rishi Sunak, the General Manager, an email on June 3, 2021 at ten in the morning, asking if we could discuss the progress that had been made on the project." - I am able to make the production of your timeline of events simpler for you.

Writing or drafting on the template

When completing the template be careful to provide clear explanations for any abbreviations or acronyms that you employ.  Nevertheless, you should make use of legal language where it is appropriate. For example, instead of referring to your employer by name, you should refer to them as "the Respondent," and you should use the correct legal terminology for the legal claims that you are making. Be courteous and precise, but speak in your own terms; if you use straightforward language, you may successfully communicate what you want to say.

What happens next

If you filed your claim online, you should get an email acknowledgment as soon as you have submitted it, provided that you have provided the correct email address. The Tribunal will verify that the ET1 form you submitted was completed accurately by you. After the Tribunal determines whether or not they are satisfied with it, they will send you an official Notice of Acknowledgement. In such case, your claim will be denied, and you will get a notification that explains how to submit an appeal to have the denial of your claim reconsidered.

In addition to that, the Respondent will get a copy of your ET1 from the Tribunal. Your claim must get a response from the Respondent within 28 calendar days. They do this by submitting a new form to the Tribunal, which is referred to as Form ET3. It is possible that it will take a few days before you obtain a copy of the ET3 from the Tribunal once they have received it. It is imperative that you exercise patience at this stage; do not pursue anything immediately once the 28 days have passed. After the 28 days have elapsed, you have the option of calling the Tribunal to inquire about any further developments about one week later. Be mindful that the court currently has a significant backlog of cases to process, and remember to exercise patience as a result.

Help To fill in the ET1 Employment Tribunal claim form

Twenty years ago, I began a career as a law lecturer. In addition, via my work with both private clients and businesses, I have a significant amount of knowledge in employment law. I have been successful in numerous instances, but more than that, I have had innumerable situations that were resolved by settlements because the employer was unable to win the case. Success is all about drafting your ET1 correctly. Why don't you get someone to explain the ins and outs of employment law to you if you've been experiencing troubles at work? I am here to provide coaching on employment rights and to guide you through the process of reaching a favourable resolution and it all starts with drafting your ET1.