Being taken to an employment tribunal
Before the hearing
You’ll be given at least 14 days’ notice before the hearing - you’ll get a letter confirming this. You must prepare documents and arrange for witnesses to attend in advance.
‘Preliminary hearing’
You may be asked to go to an initial hearing (called a preliminary hearing) with the judge to decide on things like:
- the date and time of a hearing
- how long the hearing should take
The tribunal will let you know if you’ll have to give evidence or provide any extra information.
Arrange documents
You can ask the claimant for documents that will help you with the case, and they can request documents from you.
Examples of documents include:
- a contract of employment
- pay slips
- details of a pension scheme
- notes from relevant meetings
Usually the tribunal will issue an order setting out a timetable for when you should exchange documents.
You’ll be sent a letter telling you how many copies of each document to bring to the hearing.
Organise witnesses
You can bring witnesses to the hearing if they can give evidence directly relevant to the case.
If you ask a witness to attend and they do not want to, you can ask the tribunal to order them to come. You must apply in writing to the tribunal office dealing with the case, giving:
- the name and address of the witness
- details of what the witness may be able to say and how it will help the case
- the reason the witness has refused to attend (if they gave you one)
You’ll most likely be responsible for paying the witness’s expenses.