Glossary
Legal terms that you might need in an employment tribunal claim
Note that each of the concepts below apply equally to discrimination against male workers (except of course pregnancy and maternity discrimination).
| Direct discrimination | Direct pregnancy/maternity discrimination – Less favourable treatment of a woman because of her pregnancy or maternity leave; in pregnancy/maternity claims there is no need to show less favourable treatment than a man (s18 EqA). Direct Sex Discrimination – Less favourable treatment of a woman than a man because of her (or his) sex (s13 EqA) |
| Indirect discrimination | This occurs where there is a provision, criterion or practice (PCP) which applies to both women and men, which particularly disadvantages women (compared to men), puts the woman at a disadvantage and which the employer cannot show is justified. An example is a refusal (in some cases) to allow a woman to work part-time, because women tend to bear more of the responsibility for childcare than men. (s19 EqA) – see our website article for more information. |
| Harassment | Harassment is a type of discrimination which must be linked to one of the listed protected characteristics. Harassment is defined as unwanted conduct which violates the claimant’s dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment. (s26 EqA) |
| Victimisation | This occurs where a worker (or ex worker) is treated less favourably because she has brought proceedings, complained of discrimination or provided assistance to those who have complained. (s27 EqA) |
Tribunal Documents and Terms
| Claimant | The person making the claim. |
| Respondent | The employer (and sometimes also an individual) against whom the claim is made |
| ACAS | The role of ACAS is to try and conciliate between the parties to reach agreement. ACAS provides free and impartial advice to employers, employees and their representatives on employment rights and resolving workplace conflict. You need to contact ACAS before you can bring an Employment Tribunal claim. When you tell ACAS that you want to make a claim, they will offer you ‘Early Conciliation’. This is when ACAS talk to both you and the respondent about your dispute. It gives you the chance to come to an agreement without having to go to tribunal. You MUST contact ACAS before the time limit on your claim expires. This is important – more information here. If Early Conciliation doesn’t work, ACAS will give you a certificate with a number on it. You will need this number for your ET1 form, otherwise your claim won’t be able to proceed in the Employment Tribunal. |
| ET1 | This is the form on which a complaint to the Employment Tribunal must be made. It is sometimes also known as the Claim Form. |
| ET3 | This is the form on which the employer must respond to a complaint. It is sometimes also known as the Grounds of Resistance. |
| Questionnaire | A person alleging discrimination can send to her employer a questionnaire which sets out the alleged discrimination and questions about why the employer behaved in the way it did. The aim is to find out whether there has been any discrimination and what type, and also to gather evidence to help prove the claim. Failure to respond properly may lead to a tribunal inferring that there has been discrimination. More information here. |
| Schedule of loss | This is a document on which a claimant sets out her loss arising out of the discrimination, such as loss of earnings and benefits. More information here. |
| Discovery or Disclosure | This is the process by which both parties exchange any relevant documents that they have. Usually, the parties make a list of the documents and then exchange them (known as inspection). The documents are contained in a Bundle. |
| Settlement agreement | This is a document to settle an employment dispute between the parties. It usually sets out all the terms of the settlement and must be signed by both parties. It is only valid if it complies with specified conditions, one of which is that the claimant has been advised by a solicitor or approved adviser. More information here. |
| COT3 | This is an agreement to settle an employment dispute which is drawn up by ACAS. More information here. |
| Dismissal | This includes three situations: where the employer dismisses the employee; where a fixed term contract expires and is not renewed on the same terms; or where an employee resigns, without delay, in response to a fundamental breach of contract by the employer (known as constructive dismissal). |
| Tribunal Rules | These are the rules of procedure which the Employment Tribunal runs by. They are publicly available. They deal with the rules around applications for things like Strike Out, Deposit Orders, Unless Orders, Amendment of Claims, Extension of Time, etc. It is important that you familiarise yourself with these rules if you are bringing a claim in the Employment Tribunal. |
Key Legislation
Here are links to some of the key legislation in pregnancy and maternity discrimination claims:
| EqA | The Equality Act 2010 |
| ERA | The Employment Rights Act 1996 |
| MPL | The Maternity and Parental Leave Regulations 1999 |
This advice applies in England and Wales. If you live in another part of the UK, the law may differ. Although there are a single set of rules which govern the whole of Great Britain covering Tribunal practice and procedure, there are differences in the way that Scottish tribunals exercise their discretion regarding procedure. For guides, information and resources about employment tribunals in Scotland, see The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service. Please call our helpline for more details. If you are in Northern Ireland you can visit the Labour Relations Agency or call their helpline Workplace Information Service on 03300 555 300.
If you have further questions and would like to contact our advice team please use our advice contact form below or call us.
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The information on the law contained on this site is provided free of charge and does not, and is not intended to, amount to legal advice to any person on a specific case or matter. If you are not a solicitor, you are advised to obtain specific legal advice about your case or matter and not to rely solely on this information. Law and guidance is changing regularly in this area.
We cannot provide advice on employment rights in Northern Ireland as the law is different. You can visit the Labour Relations Agency or call their helpline Workplace Information Service on 03300 555 300.