How to bring a claim, end to end

Three deadlines deserve particular attention.

1. The deadline for notifying Acas. Three months less one day from when the issue arose. Miss it and you generally cannot claim
2. The ET1 deadline. File as soon as the certificate is issued — do not wait
3. The deadline for sending to the tribunal. It is a separate deadline from sending to the respondent, and easy to miss

Calculating time limits can get complicated. Where underpayment is ongoing, there can be argument about when the clock starts. If in doubt, notify Acas early. Filing early never hurts you.

People ask about this, so to be explicit:

What I actually paid out was advancing £80 for the writ.

Employment Tribunals in the UK currently charge no issue fee. Fees were introduced at one point but were later held unlawful and abolished.

So the financial barrier is close to nil.

What it costs is time and effort. Those it does cost.

Notifying Acas

• Your name and contact details
• The respondent's registered company name and registered office (check Companies House)
• A short summary of the issue
• Your preferred contact method (and say so if you are not confident in English)

Filing the ET1

• The Acas certificate reference number (copied exactly)
• The respondent's registered name and address
• Start and end dates of employment
• Your job
• The claim and its basis (claim details)
• The amount claimed (gross)
• The remedy sought (compensation)
• Any request for an interpreter or other adjustments

You do not need to attach evidence to the ET1.

Producing evidence

• Assemble it as one set with an index
• Schedule of loss (the claim and the method explained)
• Calculation table (daily figures and the working)
• Daily sales reports (Z reports)
• Rotas (both kitchen and front of house)
• Payslips
• Total days actually worked
• Witness statements, if any
• A record of what you sent the respondent (date, time, method)

If the tribunal asks for a schedule of loss

• Weekly pay (both gross and net)
• The amount claimed and how it is calculated (including the period, gross)
• The method for any other heads of claim

1. Letting a deadline slide because settlement looks close

The most dangerous one. "They say they are going to make an offer" does not stop the clock. You can still settle after filing the ET1. File first, then negotiate.

2. Writing emotionally

The urge is understandable, but the tribunal decides the substance of the claim. Plain, structured writing reads more strongly. When emotional emails arrive from the other side, answering with facts alone is enough.

3. Chasing Acas too hard

Acas is neutral. Frequent chasing can read as anxious or emotional. Wait a reasonable period, then ask briefly and politely.

4. Disclosing all your evidence early

Early Conciliation explores settlement; it is not formal disclosure. Showing everything at that stage gives the other side time to prepare a response. Produce it at the right stage, in the right form.

5. Widening the claim too far

However many things you want to say, narrowing to the one point you can evidence and reduce to a figure ends up stronger. I left out unfair dismissal and ran unpaid wages alone.

6. Not recording service

"I'm sure I sent it" does not work. Record the date, time, method, and recipient. If you use a large-file link, watch the expiry date.

7. Assuming it ends at judgment

Judgments do not pay themselves. Once the payment deadline passes, start preparing the next step.

8. Underestimating the risk to colleagues

If someone helps with witness evidence, think first about whether it exposes them. Be especially careful with people still employed there.

Question 1 — was the service charge in substance part of your pay?

Likely yes if:

• it was paid regularly
• it went through payroll
• it appeared on your payslip

That is treated differently from occasional cash gratuities.

Question 2 — was the allocation rule written down?

• Not written down → there is scope to calculate by a method verifiable from the records. The burden of showing a rule existed falls on the party that should have kept the records
• Written down → calculate according to that rule. If you were not paid in accordance with it, that is itself the problem

Question 3 — can you secure the records?

At minimum you need three things:

• something showing the daily total service charge
• something showing how many staff worked each day
• something showing what was actually paid to you

If you are still employed, start collecting now. It gets much harder after you leave.

You do not need the whole period. One month with complete records, plus an unchanged practice across the period, may serve as a reference month.

If all three apply, it is worth doing the arithmetic. The method is in "Work out what you are owed".

Looking back, a few things.

It can be done without a solicitor. Both Acas and the tribunal explain things on the assumption that people act for themselves. If your English is shaky, an interpreter can be arranged.

The more level-headed I stayed, the stronger it got. Not engaging with emotional exchanges and simply stacking up facts and figures turned out to be more persuasive.

It took a long time. About eight months from first raising it to judgment, and longer again before recovery moved. Along the way a notice arrived in error, and unpleasant emails arrived from the other side.

But the record stands. Whatever happens from here, there is a tribunal decision on the record about how a service charge collected from customers was allocated.

If someone in the same position can use this record to produce their own numbers, writing it was worth it.

For completeness: the respondent said they had applied to the court to set this judgment aside. No copy of any application ever reached me or the HCEO handling enforcement. The stay of enforcement they sought was dismissed by the court, on the basis that there was no evidence any set-aside application had actually been made. If an application was in fact made and were granted, the outcome could change. I am recording that honestly too.