The Preliminary Hearing at the Employment Tribunal: What You Need to Prepare

Last updated: May 2026 · For claimants in England, Wales and Scotland

Quick Answer

A preliminary hearing (often called a "PH" or "prelim") is a case management hearing where the Employment Judge sets the rules for how your case will run. There are three types: case management (CM), substantive (deciding a discrete legal issue early), and remedy. For a standard CM preliminary hearing you should arrive with: an agenda, an updated list of issues, a Schedule of Loss, a position statement, the ET1 and ET3, and any directions you want the tribunal to make. A "mini-bundle" of essential documents is helpful but not always required.

The Three Types of Preliminary Hearing

Under Part 9 of the Employment Tribunal Procedure Rules 2024 (Rules 52–54), preliminary hearings can be ordered for any of three purposes:

1. Case Management Preliminary Hearing (CMPH)

The most common. The Judge will:

• Confirm and refine the list of issues
• Set directions for disclosure, witness statements, and bundle preparation
• List the final hearing (length, format, dates)
• Consider deposit orders (where a claim has little reasonable prospect)
• Consider strike-out applications (where a claim has no reasonable prospect)

2. Substantive Preliminary Hearing

Held to decide a discrete legal issue that could dispose of all or part of the claim before a full hearing. Common examples:

• Was the claimant an employee, a worker, or self-employed?
• Was the claim filed in time?
• Did the claimant have the qualifying period of service for unfair dismissal?
• Is the claimant "disabled" within s.6 of the Equality Act 2010?

These are more like mini-trials. Witness evidence and a small bundle are usually needed.

3. Remedy Hearing

Where liability has already been decided in your favour and the only remaining question is compensation. Less common as a preliminary hearing; more often a separate hearing after a successful liability decision.

What the Judge Will Ask You

For a case management preliminary hearing, the Judge will work through a standard agenda. Be ready to answer on each:

1. The list of issues — does this list capture the legal questions for the tribunal to decide?
2. Amendments — does either side want to add or remove claims?
3. Disclosure — when can it be exchanged? Are there gaps?
4. Witness statements — how many witnesses each side? When will statements be exchanged?
5. The bundle — who prepares it? Who agrees the index? When is it filed?
6. The Schedule of Loss — when will it be served? When will the counter-schedule be served?
7. Hearing length — how many days does the case need?
8. Hearing format — in-person, remote, or hybrid?
9. ADR — is judicial mediation appropriate?
10. Special arrangements — interpreters, reasonable adjustments, vulnerable witness measures

What to Bring (or Email in Advance)

The Agenda

Before the preliminary hearing, the parties are expected to attempt to agree an agenda. The tribunal usually circulates a draft a fortnight in advance. The agenda lists the directions both parties want the tribunal to make.

If you are a litigant in person and the respondent's solicitor sends you their proposed agenda, read it carefully. Mark up anything you disagree with and send your version back at least 48 hours before the hearing.

The List of Issues

A short numbered list of the legal questions the tribunal needs to decide. Example for an unfair dismissal and disability discrimination claim:

1. Was the Claimant dismissed?
2. What was the principal reason for dismissal?
3. Was the reason a potentially fair reason under s.98(2) ERA 1996?
4. Was the dismissal procedurally and substantively fair under s.98(4) ERA 1996?
5. Was the Claimant disabled within s.6 Equality Act 2010 during the relevant period?
6. Did the Respondent know, or ought reasonably to have known, of the disability?
7. Did the Respondent fail to comply with the duty to make reasonable adjustments under s.20 EqA 2010?
8. Did the Respondent treat the Claimant unfavourably because of something arising in consequence of disability under s.15 EqA 2010?
9. Remedy.

A Position Statement (Optional but Recommended)

A short document (1–2 pages) summarising:

• The facts in dispute
• Your position on each preliminary issue
• The directions you want the tribunal to make
• Time estimates

Send it 48–72 hours in advance.

A Mini-Bundle

For a case management preliminary hearing, a mini-bundle of essential procedural documents is often useful:

Keep it short — 50 pages or less if possible. The Judge will read it before the hearing.

Your Schedule of Loss

The draft Schedule of Loss is increasingly expected at the preliminary hearing — it focuses the parties on the size of the claim, which feeds into settlement discussions and judicial mediation.

Practical Steps in the 14 Days Before the Hearing

How to Present Yourself

The preliminary hearing is procedural, not adversarial. The Judge wants to manage the case efficiently. Things to remember:

• Address the Judge as "Sir" or "Madam" or "Judge" — not "Your Honour" (which is reserved for Crown Court)
• Speak slowly — the Judge takes contemporaneous notes
• Have your key documents tabbed — the ET1, ET3, and case management order at minimum
• Don't argue the merits — the preliminary hearing is about how the case will run, not who is right
• Take notes — the Judge will make oral directions that become a written order. Cross-check the written order when it arrives

After the Hearing

Within 14–28 days the tribunal will send a written record of orders made (sometimes called the "case management summary" or "preliminary hearing order"). Read it carefully. Diary every date in the order. If the order misrecords what was agreed, write to the tribunal within 14 days asking for it to be corrected.

How BundleCreator Helps for the Preliminary Hearing

BundleCreator's "Preliminary Hearing Case Management" template comes pre-loaded with sections for the ET1, ET3, ACAS certificate, case summary, draft Schedule of Loss, and draft agenda. You drop in your documents and BundleCreator builds the mini-bundle, complete with index and pagination, for £12.

Build your preliminary hearing bundle →

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Related Articles

• The Complete Pillar Guide: How to Make an Employment Tribunal Bundle
• How to Create a List of Documents for the Tribunal
• How to Write an Employment Tribunal Witness Statement

Disclaimer: This guide explains the procedural framework for case management preliminary hearings. Substantive preliminary hearings (deciding employment status, time limits, or disability status) are mini-trials and benefit from legal advice. Contact ACAS, Citizens Advice, or a qualified employment lawyer.