Getting ready for your Employment Tribunal hearing

Once you have submitted your claim to the Employment Tribunal, you should receive a Notice of Hearing, along with a Directions Notice from the Tribunal. This will usually include a map and a guide to attending the Tribunal Hearing Centre.

Key dates and Directions from the Employment Tribunal

On the run-up to your Employment Tribunal hearing, there will be a number of important dates by which you must have completed certain tasks. These might include:

• The date by which you must disclose your documents to the other party in the case;
• The date by which you must notify the Tribunal and the other party of the remedy you are seeking;
• The date by which you must exchange witness statements; and
• If it is relevant, the date by which you must submit a Schedule of Loss - a document that shows the amount you are claiming.

It is very important that you comply with all key dates and directions the Tribunal gives you. Failure to do this could result in your case being struck out.

Even if you have not been given any specific directions you should make sure that the other party has reasonable notice of any documents/statements or witnesses that you plan to use at the hearing by sending copies to them in advance of the hearing in any event.

You will need to provide the Employment Tribunal with evidence of what you want and the damages you are claiming. It is important that you bring all your evidence to the Tribunal and it is helpful if you have copies of all your documents available for the Tribunal to consider.

If you need help or advice as you prepare for an Employment Tribunal hearing, our employment solicitors are available to assist you. Call us on 0800 422 0241 or simply complete our contact form, and we will contact you.

Will I be expected to pay to go to Tribunal?

In most Employment Tribunal cases, each side will pay their own costs. However, in certain circumstances, the Tribunal may order one side to pay costs to the other. Those circumstances can include if one side has behaved unreasonably in the way they have carried out the case or if a Tribunal thinks that a claim was so weak that it should not have been brought, these issues may also be raised at an earlier stage for example at a Pre-Hearing Review.