What actually happens at an employment tribunal hearing

The hearing is the part of a tribunal claim that people dread, mostly because they picture a courtroom drama. The reality is quieter and more procedural: a room, a judge, two tables of people, and a running order that rarely surprises anyone who has prepared. Here is how the day actually unfolds.

Before the day

Almost everything that decides a hearing happens before it. By the time you arrive, the tribunal process will already have produced:

• The bundle. One agreed set of documents, numbered, that everyone works from. If a document is not in the bundle, it usually does not exist as far as the tribunal is concerned.
• Witness statements. Written accounts from each witness, exchanged in advance. At the hearing your statement is usually taken as read, so what you say on paper is your evidence.
• A list of issues. The questions the tribunal has to answer, agreed at a preliminary hearing. The whole day is organised around that list.

Arrive early, dress as you would for a formal interview, and bring nothing you would not want the other side to see you with.

Who is in the room

Most hearings are decided by an employment judge sitting alone. Discrimination and more complex cases can have a panel of three: the judge plus two lay members, one with an employer background and one with an employee or trade union background. You address the judge as Sir or Madam.

Tribunal hearings are public. In practice, the public seats are usually empty. Judgments are published online afterwards.

The running order

The order of the day follows a pattern:

1. Housekeeping. The judge confirms the issues, the bundle and the timetable, and deals with any last-minute applications.

2. Evidence from the side with the burden of proof. In unfair dismissal where dismissal is admitted, the employer goes first, because it is for the employer to prove the reason for dismissal. In discrimination claims, the claimant usually goes first.

3. Each witness in turn. The statement stands as their evidence, they may be asked a few supplementary questions, then they are cross-examined by the other side, then the judge or panel ask questions.

4. Submissions. Each side sums up: what the evidence showed and why the law is on their side.

5. The judgment. Sometimes given on the day, more often reserved and sent out in writing weeks later.

Cross-examination is the part people fear, and it is mostly about documents. The classic exchange is not shouting, it is: please turn to page 143, that email is from you, is it not?

Giving evidence well

The witnesses who do well share a few habits:

• Answer the question asked. Not the one you wish had been asked, and not a speech. Short, true answers.
• Say when you do not know or cannot remember. Guessing to be helpful is how credible witnesses fall apart.
• Stay calm when it gets uncomfortable. The cross-examiner's job is to test you. Losing your temper or getting sarcastic reads far worse than a difficult fact.
• Do not perform. Judges have heard every story. They believe the people who sound like they are remembering, not reciting.

Remote hearings

Many preliminary hearings, and some final hearings, now happen by video. The rules of the day are the same, with a few practical additions: a quiet private room, a stable connection, no one else present while you give evidence, and the bundle in front of you on paper or a second screen.

The decision and afterwards

If the judgment is reserved, it arrives by post and email, and written reasons follow. If you win on liability, compensation is either agreed, decided at the same hearing, or listed for a separate remedy hearing. If the claim fails, there is a narrow right of appeal on points of law within 42 days.

Most people who have been through a hearing say the same thing afterwards: the preparation was harder than the day itself. If you are weighing up representation, our guide to whether you need a solicitor for a tribunal is the honest version, and our employment tribunal guide covers the whole journey end to end.

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