A claim is started in the Employment Tribunal (ET) by the employee completing an ET1 form which is lodged at the appropriate Employment Tribunal office.

Employment Tribunals were originally intended to be informal forums for the resolution of disputes between employers and employees. It was considered that tribunals would be faster and less formal than the courts with the strict rules of evidence not applying.

It was intended that an employee would be capable of bringing his or her own claim against their employer, without representation. It is however, very common for an employee to be legally represented in defending such claims, often with the assistance of a Barrister, who is a trained advocate.