New claim and response forms

The courts and tribunals service has issued new claim and response forms (ET1 and ET3) for claimants and respondent employers to use.

The forms now enable the claimant or respondent to use “other” as an alternative title, rather than specifying Mr, Mrs, Miss or Ms.

Also, on the ET1, a claimant can use “prefer not to say” rather than identifying as male or female.

There are separate tick boxes on the forms for the parties to indicate consent to video or phone hearings and, on the ET1, a claimant must explain why if they can’t participate in either.

The forms now include examples of reasonable adjustments that claimants (or respondents) may need from the tribunal if they have a disability or health condition.

These forms became effective from 3 August, although it’s unclear what the implications may be of submitting a claim on the old form.