Claimant

The claimant is the person who starts a case. Whether you are bringing an employment tribunal claim, a small claims action, a scam refund complaint or a renters rights application, understanding the role — and its obligations — is the foundation of running your own case.

What is the difference between a claimant and a plaintiff?

They are the same role under different names. Before the Civil Procedure Rules came into force in 1999, the person starting a civil claim in England and Wales was called the plaintiff. The CPR renamed that role to claimant to use plain English. You will still see plaintiff in older case reports and some Commonwealth jurisdictions, but in England and Wales today the correct term is claimant.

Am I the claimant if I respond to a possession claim my landlord has started?

No. If your landlord starts a possession claim, they are the claimant and you are the defendant. The claimant is the party who initiates the proceedings. If you separately want to apply for a rent repayment order or make a housing disrepair claim against your landlord, you would be the claimant in those proceedings.

Can there be more than one claimant in the same proceedings?

Yes. Multiple employees can bring related employment tribunal claims together — for example in group equal pay litigation or collective redundancy cases. In civil claims, joint claimants can bring a single action if they have the same or closely related grievances. Each claimant retains their individual entitlements; the case is managed together for efficiency.

What are my main obligations as a claimant?

As claimant you must set out your case accurately in the originating document — the ET1 in an employment tribunal, the claim form in court. You must comply with procedural deadlines, disclose documents you hold that are relevant to the dispute (including documents that help the other side), attend any hearings, and deal with the case proportionately. Failing to comply with tribunal or court orders can result in your claim being struck out.

Does being the claimant mean I go first at the hearing?

Usually, yes. In most civil and tribunal proceedings the claimant presents their case first — witness evidence and documents — and the respondent or defendant follows. There are exceptions. In unfair dismissal cases the employer often goes first to establish the reason for dismissal, because that is their burden. In discrimination cases both sides may give evidence in the usual claimant-first order, but the burden on specific issues can shift.

What happens to my claim if I cannot attend the hearing?

Failing to attend a scheduled hearing without prior notice or good reason can result in your claim being decided in your absence, or being struck out. If you cannot attend, you should notify the tribunal or court as soon as possible, explain the reason, and apply for a postponement. Tribunals and courts have discretion to grant postponements on good grounds, but a last-minute application or unexplained non-attendance is unlikely to be sympathetic.

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Glossary · All tracks

The claimant is the person who starts a case. Whether you are bringing an employment tribunal claim, a small claims action, a scam refund complaint or a renters

rights application, understanding the role — and its obligations — is the foundation of running your own case.

Last reviewed: June 2026

Applies across all four tracks

is the party who initiates proceedings — in a tribunal, civil court, or ombudsman complaint — seeking a remedy from the other side, who is called the

(in tribunals and ombudsman schemes) or the

Where this comes from

Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) — Glossary

— introduced the term "claimant" in 1999, replacing the older term "plaintiff" throughout civil proceedings in England and Wales.

Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure 2024, r.1

— defines "claimant" as the person who presents a claim.

FCA Dispute Resolution (DISP) Rules

— use "complainant" for the person bringing an FOS complaint; the role is equivalent to claimant.

What being the claimant means across the four tracks

The word "claimant" is used consistently across England and Wales

civil and tribunal systems, but the procedural documents and the name of the other side differ by track.

, you are the claimant from the moment you submit an ET1 claim form. The other side — usually your current or former employer — is the respondent. The tribunal manages the case and sets a timetable. You are responsible for setting out your claim accurately in the ET1, complying with any case management orders, exchanging documents and witness statements, and attending the hearing.

, you start proceedings by submitting a claim form — either an N1 paper form or through the Money Claim Online service. You are the claimant; the person you are suing is the defendant. The civil procedure rules govern the process, and the court

s small claims track is designed to be accessible without legal representation.

scam refund complaint

to the Financial Ombudsman Service, the FCA

s DISP rules use the term "complainant" — but the role is exactly that of a claimant. You bring the complaint against the bank or payment service provider (the respondent firm), set out your case, provide evidence, and the ombudsman adjudicates.

proceedings — whether a possession defence, a rent repayment order application, or a housing disrepair claim in the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) — the terminology depends on who starts which proceedings. If your landlord starts a possession claim, they are the claimant and you are the defendant. If you apply for a rent repayment order or bring your own claim, you are the claimant or applicant.

Across all four tracks the claimant

s core obligations are the same: set out your case accurately, provide evidence, meet deadlines, and engage with the process. Failing to comply — for example, by ignoring case management orders or not attending a hearing — puts your claim at risk of being struck out.

How it works in practice

Worked example — the same person across tracks

Yemi is a software engineer dismissed after raising a concern about data protection practices at his employer. He is also a tenant whose landlord has failed to fix a damp problem, and he lost £6,000 to an APP fraud targeting his business account.

In each matter, Yemi is the

(or equivalent). In his employment tribunal claim, he files an ET1 and his employer (the respondent) is obliged to respond with an ET3. In his FOS complaint about the APP fraud, he is the complainant and his bank is the respondent firm. In a rent repayment order application against his landlord, he is the applicant in the First-tier Tribunal — functionally the same role again.

. He sets out his case, provides documents and a witness statement, and the other side responds. He carries the general burden of establishing the facts he relies on — though in his employment tribunal discrimination claim, once he sets out a prima facie case of whistleblowing detriment, the burden on that issue shifts to his employer.

Common pitfalls for claimants

• Misidentifying who the claimant is.
• If your landlord starts possession proceedings, you are the defendant — not the claimant. If you want to proactively pursue a remedy (rent repayment order, disrepair claim) you start a separate claim as claimant. Getting this wrong can lead to attempting to raise claims in the wrong proceeding.
• Inconsistency between the claim form and later documents.
• Your ET1 or N1 sets out the framework of your case. If your witness statement or schedule of loss introduces entirely new allegations not mentioned in the claim form, a tribunal or court may not allow them, or may adjourn to give the other side time to respond — wasting time and potentially costing you.
• Missing procedural deadlines.
• As claimant you must act within time limits — not just the initial claim deadline but interim steps like exchanging documents or serving a schedule of loss by the date ordered. Courts and tribunals are less sympathetic than they once were to claimants who miss deadlines without good reason.
• Treating the hearing as the first time to tell your story.
• In most proceedings witness statements are exchanged before the hearing. A tribunal will have read the documents. The hearing is not primarily a narrative exercise — it is a testing of the account already in the papers.
• Forgetting disclosure obligations.
• As claimant you must disclose documents in your possession that are relevant to the issues in the case — even documents that help the other side. Deliberately withholding relevant documents is a serious matter and can result in adverse findings.

Frequently asked questions

Sources & further reading

• Civil Procedure Rules
• — including glossary definitions (justice.gov.uk)
• Employment tribunals
• How to complain — Financial Ombudsman Service
• Make a court claim for money
• — gov.uk small claims guide

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Last reviewed: June 2026.

Procedural references checked against the Civil Procedure Rules, Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure 2024, and FCA DISP sourcebook as in force on 8 June 2026.

This page is explanatory only and is not legal advice. Start My Claim is self-service software, not a law firm — its tools help you build and run your own case.