Important changes to Employment Tribunal and EAT rules

Background

Amended tribunal rules have been laid before Parliament and will implement changes to the Employment Tribunal Procedure Rules 2024 (ET Rules) and the Employment Appeal Tribunal Rules 1993 (EAT Rules).

The changes follow consultations by the Tribunal Procedure Committee and are intended largely to reflect current practice and improve efficiency.

Key changes

A significant change is the introduction of “summary reasons” for tribunal judgments. Judges may now give short-form reasons orally in appropriate cases. Where reasons are given orally, parties have 14 days from the sending of the written record of the decision to request written summary reasons or written full reasons. Written summary reasons will not automatically be entered on the public register.

The rules also formalise the tribunal’s ability to use dispute resolution processes at preliminary hearings, including judicial assessment (with consent) and dispute resolution appointments (which may be listed without consent).

Tribunals are given clearer powers to reject claims, responses or replies that do not contain any grounds, as well as those that cannot sensibly be responded to or amount to an abuse of process. In addition, tribunals may now waive the time limit for replying to an employer’s contract claim where this is in the interests of justice.

Other changes include an express power to direct a party to draft a case management order, a requirement to provide a written record where decisions are announced at a hearing, and clarification of how certain time limits are calculated.

At appeal level, it is now clear that written full reasons (not summary reasons) are required in order to lodge an appeal. Where full reasons are requested in time, the 42-day appeal period runs from the date they are sent. If they are not requested in time, the appeal deadline runs from the date the written record of the judgment was sent.

The EAT amendments apply to appeals where the tribunal judgment was made on or after 2 March 2026.

Learning points for employers

Employers should ensure pleadings clearly set out the grounds relied upon, as tribunals now have explicit powers to reject documents that do not do so. Careful attention should also be paid to the revised time limits for requesting reasons and lodging appeals.

For more information or advice, please contact Sofia Efstathiou in our Employment team.