How to Create a List of Documents for the Employment Tribunal: The Disclosure Process

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

Quick Answer

A list of documents (sometimes called the disclosure list, or schedule of documents) is the index you exchange with the other side telling them what relevant documents you hold. Under Rule 33 of the Employment Tribunal Procedure Rules 2024 (in force 6 January 2025), both parties must disclose all documents relevant to the issues — including documents that hurt their own case. The tribunal expects you to list documents by category, date, and brief description. There is no prescribed form; the discipline is in being thorough.

What Disclosure Is For

Disclosure is the procedural mechanism that puts both sides on an equal footing. Before disclosure, each party has the documents they happen to hold. After disclosure, both parties have seen every relevant document either side holds.

This matters because:

• The tribunal cannot decide a case fairly if relevant documents are kept hidden
• Cross-examination depends on knowing what documents exist
• Settlement discussions depend on knowing the strength of each side's case
• The bundle is built from the disclosed documents — anything not disclosed is unlikely to be admitted

The Source of the Disclosure Duty

The 2024 Rules (SI 2024/1155, replacing the 2013 Schedule 1 rules) set the framework:

• Rule 33 — disclosure orders. The tribunal can order any party to disclose specific documents or categories of documents.
• Rule 30 onwards (Part 6) — case management orders generally. Disclosure directions usually appear in the case management order following an initial consideration.
• Standard direction in most cases: "By [date] the parties shall exchange lists of all documents in their possession or control that are relevant to the issues in the claim".

What "Relevant" Means

A document is relevant if it:

1. Supports your case, or
2. Supports the other side's case, or
3. Undermines your case or theirs

The duty extends to documents that hurt your own claim. Yes — you have to disclose the email where you complained about a different manager, the messages where you joked about leaving, the appraisal where you accepted criticism. Failure to disclose adverse documents is a procedural breach.

You do not have to disclose documents that are merely embarrassing or irrelevant to the issues. But the threshold is low. When in doubt, disclose.

What Documents Are Caught by Disclosure?

"Documents" is interpreted broadly. It includes:

• Emails (inside and outside work)
• Text messages and WhatsApp messages
• Slack / Teams / instant-message records
• Voicemails (and transcripts where available)
• Photos and screenshots
• CCTV footage
• HR records, personnel files
• Diary entries and calendar appointments
• Recordings (where lawfully made)
• Social media posts referring to the dispute

If it would help the tribunal decide the case, it's a document.

How to Build Your List

Step 1 — Define the issues

Read the ET1, the ET3, and any tribunal "list of issues". Disclosure relates to the issues — not to every grievance you ever had with the employer.

Step 2 — Sweep your records

Go through:

• Personal email accounts (and exported work email where you preserved it)
• Phone messages
• Cloud storage (Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud)
• Physical files (letters, payslips, contracts)
• Banking records (for unpaid wages claims)
• Social media (yours and any public posts referring to the dispute)

Step 3 — Categorise

The standard schema:

1. Contract and policy documents
2. Correspondence with the employer
3. Internal HR / disciplinary / grievance documents
4. Financial documents (payslips, P45, P60, pension, mitigation)
5. Medical documents (for disability, ill-health, stress claims)
6. Other relevant documents

Step 4 — List with description

Step 5 — Exchange the lists

Send your list to the respondent. Ask for theirs. Compare. Identify:

• Documents you hold that the other side hasn't seen — send copies
• Documents they list that you haven't seen — request copies
• Gaps — categories you'd expect to exist but haven't been disclosed

Specific Disclosure — When the Other Side Is Holding Out

If you believe the employer holds relevant documents they have not disclosed, you can apply for specific disclosure under Rule 33. Your application should:

1. Identify the documents (or category of documents) with as much specificity as possible
2. Explain why you believe they exist
3. Explain how they are relevant to the issues
4. Confirm you have asked the employer informally and they have refused or failed to respond

Common targets for specific disclosure:

• Pay records for comparator employees (discrimination claims)
• Internal HR notes or HR dashboard records
• Emails between decision-makers about your case
• Investigation reports not initially disclosed
• Records relating to similar staff (statistical evidence)

The tribunal will balance relevance against disproportionality.

What You Don't Have to Disclose

Privileged Documents

• Legal advice privilege — confidential communications with a qualified lawyer for the purpose of legal advice
• Litigation privilege — documents created when litigation is in reasonable contemplation, for the dominant purpose of that litigation (covers communications with experts and witness proofs)
• Without Prejudice correspondence — settlement discussions
• ACAS conciliation discussions — confidential by statute (s.18 Employment Tribunals Act 1996)

If you list a privileged document, identify it generally ("Letter from solicitor dated [date] — privileged") but do not produce the content.

Irrelevant Documents

You don't have to disclose every email you ever sent. The threshold is relevance to the issues. But err on the side of disclosure when in doubt — the cost of over-disclosing is small; the cost of being caught hiding documents is high.

Consequences of Failure to Disclose

Under Rule 33 and the tribunal's general case management powers:

• Unless order — disclose by a deadline or the claim/response is struck out
• Strike-out of the claim or response in the most serious cases
• Costs orders under Part 13 of the 2024 Rules
• Adverse inferences — the tribunal can assume the undisclosed document supports the other side
• Reputation damage — late disclosure of damaging documents at the hearing destroys credibility

How BundleCreator Helps with Disclosure

BundleCreator's drag-and-drop section model lets you build your disclosure list as you go. As you upload documents, BundleCreator captures the metadata (date, source, description) and exports a clean list ready for exchange with the other side. When the bundle index is finalised, your witness statement can reference page numbers directly.

Build your disclosure-ready bundle →

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Related Articles

• The Complete Pillar Guide: How to Make an Employment Tribunal Bundle
• The Preliminary Hearing: What You Need to Prepare
• How to Write an Employment Tribunal Witness Statement

Disclaimer: This guide explains the disclosure framework under the Employment Tribunal Procedure Rules 2024. Privilege and the scope of specific disclosure orders are technical — for case-specific advice contact ACAS, Citizens Advice, or a qualified employment lawyer.