Your ET1 form is the document that starts your Employment Tribunal claim. The account of your claim in the ET1, your “particulars of claim”, is your statement of case. It sets out what happened, what your employer did wrong, and what you are asking the Tribunal to decide.
Getting this right matters. A well-drafted ET1 makes your claim clear and focused from the start. A poorly drafted one can create problems that are difficult to fix later.
This page explains what to include, how to structure it, and the common mistakes to avoid.
Before you start:
what claims are you making?
Before you write anything, be clear about what legal claims you are bringing. In a disability discrimination case, you may have one or more of the following:
- Failure to make reasonable adjustments (s.20-21 Equality Act 2010) – your employer failed to take reasonable steps to remove a substantial disadvantage caused by a provision, criterion, or practice, or by a physical feature, or not providing an auxiliary aid or auxiliary service.
- Discrimination arising from disability (s.15 Equality Act 2010) – your employer treated you unfavourably because of something arising from your disability, without justification
- Direct disability discrimination (s.13 Equality Act 2010) – your employer treated you less favourably than a non-disabled person because of your disability
- Harassment (s.26 Equality Act 2010) – unwanted conduct related to your disability that violated your dignity or created a hostile or degrading environment
- Victimisation (s.27 Equality Act 2010) – your employer treated you badly because you exercised, or tried to exercise, your rights under the Equality Act
- Unfair dismissal (if you have been dismissed and have two years’ qualifying service) – a separate claim under the Employment Rights Act 1996, which can sit alongside discrimination claims
You can bring more than one claim in the same ET1. Many disabled workers bring s.15 and failure to adjust claims together, sometimes alongside unfair dismissal.
The structure of your particulars of claim
There is no single required format, but a clear structure makes a strong impression and is easier for everyone — including you — to work with. The following structure works well for most disability discrimination cases:
1. The parties Confirm who you are and who your employer is. Include the dates of your employment.
2. Your disability State what your disability is and, briefly, how it affects you. Refer to the Equality Act 2010 definition. If you have medical evidence, note that it will be provided and say whether your employer has seen the medical evidence. If your employer knew or ought to have known about your disability, say so and when they knew.
3. The legal claims List the claims you are bringing. For each claim, set out:
- The legal provision (e.g. “failure to make reasonable adjustments contrary to sections 20–21 of the Equality Act 2010”)
- For reasonable adjustment claims s20-21 EqA:
- Describe the provision, criterion, or practice / physical feature / lack of auxiliary aid and the disadvantage you experience because of this. A ‘practice’ has to have an element or repetition to it, either you were subjected to the practice repeatedly or it is something the employer usually does / doesn’t do.
- Suggest adjustments that are potentially reasonable and potentially able to mitigate the disadvantage. If there may be more than one adjustment that could have the same effect, it is worth setting that out too.
- For discrimination arising from disability claims s15 EqA
- Describe the unfavourable treatment you are complaining about
- Describe the “something” that is a consequence of your disability
- Explain why you think the unfavourable treatment was because of the “something”
- For harassment related to disability s26 EqA
- Describe the unwanted conduct
- Explain how the unwanted conduct is related to disability
- Explain the effect of the unwanted conduct on you
- For direct discrimination s13 EqA
- Describe the unfavourable treatment
- Explain how the unfavourable treatment was because you are a disabled person (rather than because the consequences of disability, which is s15)
- Identify any real comparator who is not disabled in the same circumstances who was treated better.
- For indirect discrimination s19 EqA
- Describe the provision, criterion, or practice that your employer applies to everyone
- Explain the disadvantage that those who have your particular disability would be / are put to by the provisin, criterion, or practice
- Explain how you were put to that same disadvantage.
- For victimisation s27 EqA
- Describe the unfavourable treatment
- Describe the act you did that was connected to the Equality Act (e.g. asking for adjustments, complaining about discrimination) or,
- Explain why you think your employer believed you had done or would do something connected to the Equality Act
- Explain why you think the unfavourable treatment was because of the act (or belief) connected to the Equality Act.
- For reasonable adjustment claims s20-21 EqA:
- The specific act or failure you are complaining about
4. Remedy State what you are asking the Tribunal to award. In discrimination cases this usually includes injury to feelings, and may include loss of earnings, future loss, and personal injury if relevant.
Writing the facts section
The facts section is the most important part of your ET1. It should be:
Chronological. Work through events in date order. Use dates wherever you know them. Where you are uncertain, say so: “around mid-March” or “in early 2024.”
Factual. Describe what happened, what was said, and what was done. Avoid characterising your employer’s behaviour at this stage (“my employer behaved unlawfully” or “they were deliberately discriminatory”). Let the facts speak, and make the legal argument in the claims section.
Specific. Name the people involved. Refer to specific meetings, emails, and conversations. Generalised accounts — “for months my employer ignored my requests” — are weaker than specific ones: “I made adjustment requests on 3 February, 14 March, and 2 April. Each was acknowledged but not implemented.”
Referenced to documents where possible. You do not need to attach any of your documents to the ET1, but where a key document exists – an email, a letter, a meeting note – you can refer to it: “as confirmed in the email from X on 14 March.”
Proportionate in length. Longer is not better. A focused ET1 of four or five pages is usually more effective than a sprawling account of twenty. Include what is legally relevant. Leave out grievances that are not part of your claim.
Disability knowledge
In claims for failure to make reasonable adjustments and discrimination arising from disability (s.15), your employer must know, or ought reasonably to know, that you are disabled. As well as knowing you are a disabled person, your employer must know that you are likely to be put to the specific disadvantage a reasonable adjustment could mitigate, if you want to bring a reasonable adjustment claim. Stating this disadvantage clearly in your grievance and raising it in any OH assessment, should show that your employer did or ought to have known about the disadvantage. Make sure your ET1 addresses this.
State when your employer first became aware of your disability, and how. If they were told explicitly, say so and by whom. If they ought to have known, for example because of medical certificates, occupational health referrals, or visible effects on your work, explain why.
The comparator in direct discrimination
If you are bringing a direct discrimination claim, you need a comparator, a real or hypothetical non-disabled person who was treated better than you in the same or similar circumstances. Think about who that comparator is before you write the claim, and set out the comparison clearly.
In failure to adjust and s.15 claims, there is no need for a comparator in the same way. The comparison in adjustment cases is between your position with the disadvantage and your position if the disadvantage were removed.
Remedy
You must tell the Tribunal what you are seeking. For disability discrimination claims, remedy usually includes:
Injury to feelings. Compensation for the distress caused by the discrimination. Awards are banded under the Vento guidelines, which are updated periodically. As of 2025, the bands are approximately:
- Lower band: £1,200 to £11,700 (less serious cases)
- Middle band: £11,700 to £35,200 (more serious or sustained discrimination)
- Upper band: £35,200 to £58,700 (most serious cases, exceptional circumstances)
Financial loss. If you have lost earnings, because you were dismissed, forced to resign, or unable to work and on less than full pay, you can claim for those losses. Set out what you have lost and the basis of the calculation.
Personal injury. If the discrimination caused or materially contributed to a recognised psychiatric injury, you may be able to claim for that. Medical evidence will be required, this can be a complex claim to make. If the personal injury is injury to mental health, the Tribunal will not compensate for the same injury under injury to feelings and personal injury to mental health.
A declaration. A finding that your employer acted unlawfully.
A recommendation. In some cases, the Tribunal can make recommendations about steps the employer should take.
You do not need to put a precise figure in your ET1 at this stage. Saying that you will seek compensation including injury to feelings and financial loss, to be assessed at a remedy hearing, is usually sufficient.
Common mistakes
Starting with background rather than claims. A long preamble about your employer and the history of the organisation before you get to what happened to you wastes space and obscures the claims.
Confusing facts and conclusions. “My employer discriminated against me because…” is a conclusion. “My employer refused my request for X on [date], despite knowing I had a disability and that the adjustment was reasonable, because…” is the start of a fact.
Missing the time limit. Check every act or omission you are complaining about. If any falls outside the three-month period, you will need to either argue it is part of a continuing act or explain why it would be just and equitable to extend time. Do not silently include out-of-time matters and hope the Tribunal does not notice.
Overclaiming. Including every grievance you have ever had with your employer, regardless of when it arose or whether it is legally relevant, dilutes your case and makes it harder to manage.
Submitting the ET1
Claims are submitted online through the HM Courts and Tribunals Service website (employment tribunal claims). You will need your ACAS Early Conciliation certificate reference number.
Once submitted, you will receive an acknowledgement. The Tribunal will send your ET1 to your employer, who has 28 days to submit a response (ET3). In many areas, particularly the South of England, the Tribunal backlog can mean it takes several months for the Tribunal to acknowledge your claim.
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This page provides legal information, not legal advice. It reflects the law in England, Scotland, and Wales. The Vento band figures given are approximate and should be checked against the most recent Presidential Guidance before relying on them.