Requesting an order from the Employment Tribunal for additional information and documents

For general advice on seeking information from your employer, and on gathering evidence for an Employment Tribunal claim, please see our advice pages on what evidence you need and tips on presenting the evidence. 

If you have started a claim, the Employment Tribunal will usually make case management orders once the Respondent has entered their response to the claim. One of these case management orders is likely to be a general Order to the parties regarding disclosure. You should think about what specific documents or information you need from your employer early on in your case.

The Tribunal may make further specific orders regarding disclosure if required, such as if a party to the case requests specific documents or information.

If the Respondent will not supply you with answers to your questions and/or documents in good time, you can write a letter to the Employment Tribunal with a copy of the original request and ask for an Order.

The letter to the Tribunal must briefly state why the requested information and documents are relevant to the case. This explanation can be fairly general if the requests are uncontroversial and obviously relevant. More explanation should be given of unusual requests or requests which could involve the Respondent in a lot of work to answer.

For example, in a sex discrimination claim where the Claimant is requesting disclosure of documents in a promotion case, she could ask the Tribunal to order the employer to provide the following:

Score sheets and other notes made by the interview panel at interviews.

• Application forms from other shortlisted and/or successful applicants for the job.
• Any references written for the Claimant and for the successful candidate.
• Any other documents or e-mails about the selection process.
• The job description and person specification for the post.
• Any documents from the HR department or similar about recruitment processes and how internal applicants should be interviewed.
• The employer’s equal opportunities policy.
• Any other relevant documents.

This letter to the Employment Tribunal must be copied to the Respondent. You may find this template letter helpful.

This advice applies in England, Wales and Scotland. If you live in another part of the UK, the law may differ. 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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