Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Employment tribunal definition

What does Employment tribunal mean? A specialist forum that decides employment disputes between workers and employers, typically statutory claims such as unfair dismissal, discrimination, equal pay, unlawful deduction from wages, breach of contract (on termination), redundancy pay, whistleblowing and working time. In England & Wales and Scotland, Employment Tribunals are statutory bodies established under the Employment Tribunals Act 1996. Procedure is governed by the Employment Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) 2013; claims are presented on form ET1 and responses on ET3; most claims must be presented within three months (subject to Acas early conciliation stop-the-clock). Cases are heard by an Employment Judge, sometimes with...

Scottish Employment Tribunals: procedural guide on jurisdiction, case management, disclosure, witness statements, expenses and appeals, highlighting key differences from England & Wales

Published by a LexisNexis Employment expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note outlines the principal contrasts in how Employment tribunals operate in Scotland compared with those in England and Wales. Now that oversight of Scottish employment tribunals has been devolved to Scotland, it is uncertain whether these distinctions will be consolidated and broadened in future...

Statutory framework and Constitution

Although Scottish tribunals may proceed differently from those in England and Wales, the underlying statutory regime is identical. The structure and procedures of Scottish tribunals are set out in a single code: the Employment Tribunal Procedure Rules 2024 (ET Rules 2024), SI 2024/1155. Before 2004, Scotland followed its own procedural rules. Given that this statutory scheme governs Scottish employment tribunals, the primary point of reference should be the ET Rules 2024, SI 2024/1155. Nevertheless, employment tribunals in Scotland have their own President, appointed by the Lord President of the (Scottish) Court of Session, who is Scotland’s most senior judge and head of the judiciary. The Scottish employment tribunal also has a Vice President (rather than English Regional Judges), who is likewise appointed by the...

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Russell Bradley

Westwater Advocates

Russell Bradley was admitted as an advocate on 1st June 2012. Prior to that, he was in private practice as a solicitor for over 20 years. In the latter 10 years, he worked exclusively in the employment field as partner and head of the Scottish employment team with the global law firm DLA Piper. His work covered the whole gamut of employment issues. He was accredited as a specialist in employment law by the Law Society of Scotland and has retained that exclusive focus on employment work in his years since coming to the Scottish Bar. In the four-year period from November 2020 he was a fee-paid employment judge in Scotland. He returned to practice in November 2024, resuming his rights to appear in the Scottish ET and EAT. His practice is primarily first instance in the employment tribunal where he is regularly and...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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