Receiving an ET1 is not the moment to start figuring out your process. By the time a claim lands, several decisions you made months earlier are already baked in. What you can still control is how well you defend from here.
The clock starts immediately. You have 28 days from the date the tribunal sends you the claim to file your response on an ET3. Miss that deadline and you risk a default judgment being entered against you without the tribunal ever hearing your side. If you need more time, you can apply for an extension, but don't assume one will be granted, and don't leave the application until the last few days.
Once you're inside the process, the first job is evidence, and speed matters more than people assume. Given that claims are now routinely taking twelve to eighteen months or longer to reach a hearing, the version of events that's clear in a manager's head today will not be clear in eighteen months. Get statements down in writing while memories are accurate. Identify every witness you'll need and confirm they're still willing and available, because staff turnover over that timeframe is common and losing a key witness partway through can seriously weaken your position.
Build your bundle properly from the outset rather than scrambling before the hearing. That means every relevant email, policy document, disciplinary record, performance review and meeting note, organised and dated, not reconstructed from memory closer to the hearing date.
At some point, usually well before a final hearing, you'll have a genuine decision to make about settlement. Judicial mediation is available in many tribunals and can resolve a dispute without either side committing to a full hearing. Without prejudice settlement discussions are always an option too. Before you have that conversation, know the realistic value of the claim against you, not the theoretical maximum you've seen quoted elsewhere. Most unfair dismissal claims settle or are decided for a fraction of the compensatory cap, and knowing that number changes how a settlement offer looks.
On representation, there's no single right answer. Straightforward claims with clear documentation are sometimes defended perfectly well with an HR consultant or in-house resource. Complex discrimination claims, whistleblowing allegations, or anything with reputational sensitivity usually justify proper legal representation from the outset. Whichever route you choose, make the decision deliberately rather than defaulting to whoever answered the phone first.
One point worth remembering throughout: unlike civil court litigation, cost recovery in tribunals is rare and only available in limited circumstances, generally where a party has behaved unreasonably in bringing or conducting the case. Assume your legal costs are a sunk cost regardless of outcome, and factor that into every decision about how hard to fight.
If you've received an ET1 and want a clear-eyed view of your position before you respond, call Neathouse Partners on 0333 041 1094 or visit our ET1 Review Service