Start from your situation
An employee is going to a tribunal? Here is what to do, in order.
If an employee takes, or says they will take, a claim to an employment tribunal, the first jobs are practical: find the dates, take advice, and gather and protect your records. Here is the order, written mainly for the employer, with a short section for the employee. This page is not legal advice, so take advice before you reply to anything.
Record the case and keep the evidence in one place.
From the first sign of a claim to a file you can hand to your adviser
6 steps, in order. Each one links to the page that explains it.
Stay calm and keep things fair
A claim, or the news that one is coming, can feel personal. Take a breath before you reply to anything. Carry on treating the employee fairly, as you would anyone else, and do not discuss the claim with colleagues. Do not change their job, pay, hours or access because of it without taking advice first. Tell only the people who need to know.
Find the dates and the time limits
Write down the key dates: when the matter the claim may be about happened, when the employment ended if it has, when you first heard of the complaint, and the date of anything you have received from the employee, Acas or a tribunal. Time limits apply to tribunal claims. The limit depends on the kind of claim and on when the problem happened, so do not guess. The calculator works from your dates, and the law page on Acas early conciliation and time limits explains how the two fit together. Neither replaces advice.
Take advice
Speak to a solicitor or an employment adviser before you reply to the employee, to Acas or to a tribunal. Give them the dates from step 2 and show them what you hold. Check whether an insurance policy or a trade body you belong to offers legal help. This page and HRHive are not legal advice. The law page explains in plain English what an employment tribunal claim is, so you know what you are asking about.
Gather the records
Collect what you hold on the person: the signed contract or written statement, the policies they were given and their acknowledgements of receipt, the personnel file, the notes and evidence from any grievance or other process, and relevant emails and messages. The tribunal evidence checklist lists what to look for. In HRHive, print the personnel file, the signing certificate for the contract, the acknowledgement register and the case, and keep a copy. HRHive prints your records as they stand now, so print when it matters. If your adviser asks for witness statements, take them early, in each person's own words.
Keep everything unaltered and confidential
Do not delete, tidy or rewrite anything, including notes or emails you would rather were not there. Keep originals as they are and work from copies. Ask your adviser what else to keep, and who to ask to keep it. Limit who knows about the claim and who can see the records. In HRHive, keep the case confidential and check its access list, and place a legal hold on the person's records in Data protection, so nothing is destroyed under your retention schedule while it may be needed. Case entries cannot be edited or removed, and the audit log shows who created or opened a confidential case.
Grievances and casesDecide how to approach Acas early conciliation
Early conciliation is run by Acas, and the law page explains how it works and how it fits with the time limits. Read it, then decide with your adviser whether and how to take part, and who will speak for the business. Keep a note of every contact: the date, who, how and what was said, and any papers you receive. HRHive does not connect to Acas or run conciliation, so record contacts as notes on the case.
What you will have at the end
- The key dates written down, and the time limits checked
- Advice taken before you replied to anyone
- The contract, policies, acknowledgements, personnel file, case notes and emails gathered
- Records left unaltered, with a legal hold on the person's records and a short list of people who know
- A note of every contact with the employee, Acas or a tribunal
- A decision, with your adviser, on how to approach early conciliation
What HRHive does here, and what it does not
HRHive keeps the contract, the policies and acknowledgements, the personnel file and the case notes and evidence together, dated and recorded in the audit log, and prints them. It does not give legal advice, file or manage a claim, connect to Acas, or decide what to share with a tribunal. That is for you and your adviser.
If you are the employee
You need the same three things: the dates, advice and your own records. Write down the key dates, and use the time limit calculator and the law page on early conciliation and time limits to see how limits work. Take advice before you decide anything. Keep your own copies of what you are entitled to hold, such as your contract, payslips, the emails you sent and received, and notes of meetings, and ask your adviser what you may keep and share. The subject access requests page explains how to ask an employer what personal data it holds about you. If your employer uses HRHive, your portal shows your documents and policies, and the status, shared notes and outcome of anything you raised.
If an adviser helps you
Give your adviser the dates from step 2 and the printed records from step 4. An HR consultant can be invited into your organisation with the HR role, and sees cases as HR does, apart from any case that names them. Advisers outside HRHive can be sent printed copies. See how HR consultants work in HRHive.
Practical guidance, not legal advice
This page is a practical order to work in. It does not say what the law requires, and HRHive does not give legal advice. The linked law pages explain the rules in general terms, with their sources. A claim to a tribunal needs care, so take advice before you reply to anyone.