ET3 (response form)

The employer's written answer to a tribunal claim — and, for a claimant, the first clear sight of the case they will actually have to meet.

How long does a respondent have to file an ET3?

Twenty-eight days from the date the tribunal sent the respondent a copy of the claim. The deadline is printed on the covering letter, and it runs from the date of sending rather than the date of receipt. A respondent who needs longer can apply for an extension, and the application can be made either before or after the deadline, though an application made in time is far more likely to succeed.

What happens if the employer files nothing?

The tribunal can issue a judgment on the claim, or on any part of it, without a hearing where it considers it has enough material to do so. A respondent who has not filed a response is not entitled to take part in the proceedings except in limited ways, such as applying for reconsideration or for an extension of time. It is not an automatic win for the claimant — the tribunal still has to be satisfied the claim succeeds on what is before it.

Can a late ET3 still be accepted?

Yes, if the tribunal grants an extension of time. The respondent applies in writing, explaining why the response is late and setting out the proposed response. The tribunal weighs the explanation, the length of the delay, the merits of the defence and the prejudice to each side. Late responses are refused often enough that no respondent should rely on this.

What should a claimant do when the ET3 arrives?

Read it carefully against the ET1 and note what is admitted, what is denied, and what new factual assertions appear. Anything the employer admits narrows what has to be proved. Anything new — a performance concern that never surfaced at the time, a document you have not seen — tells you what to prepare for and what to ask for in disclosure. It is the point at which a claim stops being about your account and starts being about the difference between two accounts.

Can a respondent amend the ET3 later?

It can apply to amend, and tribunals apply a balancing exercise weighing the nature of the amendment, the timing, and the effect on both parties. Small clarifications are usually allowed; introducing an entirely new reason for dismissal shortly before a hearing is a much harder application, particularly where it would require the claimant to gather new evidence.

Does the ET3 have to be on the prescribed form?

Yes. A response must be on the prescribed ET3 form and contain the required information, and a response not presented on the form can be rejected. This differs from civil claims, where a separate document can serve as a defence. Respondents can, however, attach additional grounds of resistance as a separate document referred to on the form.

Employment Tribunal · Glossary

The employer's written answer to a tribunal claim — and, for a claimant, the first clear sight of the case they will actually have to meet.

Last reviewed: August 2026

Employment Tribunal track

is the form on which a respondent to an employment tribunal claim sets out whether it resists the claim and, if so, on what grounds.

Where this comes from

Employment Tribunal Procedure Rules 2024

— presentation of the response and the time limit for it.

Being taken to an employment tribunal

— gov.uk guide for respondents.

— the response form and its guidance notes.

Acas — employment tribunals

— practical guidance on the tribunal process.

Where the ET3 sits in the process

An employment tribunal claim starts with the claimant presenting an

, usually after obtaining an early conciliation certificate from Acas. The tribunal checks the claim, accepts it, and sends a copy to each respondent named on it, along with the ET3 form and a covering letter that states the date by which the response must be received.

The respondent then has 28 days. Filing the ET3 is what gives an employer the right to participate: to attend hearings, call evidence, cross-examine and make submissions. A respondent that does not file within the time limit, and does not obtain an extension, loses that right and can only take a limited part in what follows.

The form asks for the respondent's details, whether the claimant's account of employment dates, pay and hours is agreed, whether the claim is resisted, and the grounds of resistance. In practice the grounds are almost always set out in an attached document rather than in the box, and it is that document which becomes the working statement of the employer's case.

What the tribunal expects the response to do

Reading an ET3 as a claimant

A claimant brings an unfair dismissal claim saying she was dismissed for raising concerns about unpaid overtime. Her ET1 says she had never been subject to any performance process. The ET3 arrives resisting the claim on the basis that she was dismissed for capability, and refers to three documented performance meetings and a final written warning.

That is a decisive moment. If those documents exist, the issue at the hearing will be whether the capability reason was genuine or a construct, not whether she raised concerns. She now knows to request the meeting records, the warning, and the notes of who decided what and when. If the documents do not exist, or are dated after her complaint, that is a powerful point.

She also notes what the ET3 admits: her employment dates, her salary, and that she raised the overtime issue in writing on a specified date. Those admissions are worth as much as the denials, because they take three factual questions off the table and let her focus her preparation on the one that matters.

Time limits, and a change on the horizon

The 28-day response deadline is one of two clocks that matter in a tribunal case. The other is the claimant's: a claim for unfair dismissal and most other tribunal complaints must currently be presented within three months less one day of the act complained of, with the clock paused during Acas early conciliation.

That is changing. The Employment Tribunal (Extension of Time Limits) (Miscellaneous Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2026 extend the time limit for presenting most tribunal complaints from three months to six months, with effect from 1 October 2026. The extension applies only where the act or failure to act complained of occurs on or after that date, and where a complaint relates to a series of acts, only where the last of them falls on or after it. Anyone dealing with events before 1 October 2026 remains on the three-month clock.

The response deadline is unaffected by that change. Respondents still have 28 days, and the extension of the claimant's window does not give employers more room to reply.

One further note on process: the tribunal procedure rules were amended in 2026, including changes to when the appeal clock to the

starts running where written reasons have been requested. Anyone working to a deadline should check the current rules rather than relying on a summary written before those amendments.

Frequently asked questions

Sources & further reading

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Last reviewed: August 2026.

References checked against the Employment Tribunal Procedure Rules and the 2026 amending instruments as at 17 August 2026. The extension of most tribunal time limits from three to six months takes effect on 1 October 2026 and applies only to acts occurring on or after that date.

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.