How to Make an Employment Tribunal Bundle: A Step-by-Step Guide for Individuals Representing Themselves
42,000 single claims were lodged in the Employment Tribunal in 2024/25. The majority of claimants now represent themselves. This guide is the practical, judge-ready playbook competitors don't publish — written for you, the claimant, in plain English.
Last reviewed: 11 May 2026 by Stevie Hayes
Quick Answer
An employment tribunal bundle is the agreed collection of every document both sides will rely on at your hearing — paginated, indexed, OCR-searchable, and usually filed 7 to 14 working days before the hearing. The respondent (your employer) normally prepares it under the case management order, but you must send them every document you want included. If you cannot agree on what goes in, you can lodge a supplementary bundle of disputed documents. BundleCreator turns your evidence into a tribunal-ready PDF for £12.
What is an Employment Tribunal Bundle?
The bundle is the single file — almost always a PDF now — that contains every document either side will rely on at the hearing. The Employment Judge reads it before the hearing begins. A well-organised bundle helps the judge understand your case quickly. A chaotic one creates confusion, delays, and — in extreme cases — costs orders.
An “agreed bundle” means the parties agree on which documentsgo in. It does not mean either side accepts the truth of the other's documents. You can include a letter you disagree with and challenge it under cross-examination.
Who prepares it?
Under standard case management directions, the respondent (your employer) prepares the bundle. But responsibility is shared — and the trap for litigants in person is treating it as “their job”. The respondent only includes what they think the tribunal needs. If you have not actively sent them every document you want included, it will not be there.
Send a numbered list of every document you want in the bundle — with copies attached — at least 28 days before the case management deadline. If they refuse, you can lodge a supplementary bundle of disputed documents and ask the tribunal to direct inclusion.
The Rules: What the Judge Expects to See
Employment Tribunal bundles are not governed by a single Practice Direction. Several sources of authority apply — and they have all changed recently.
Employment Tribunal Procedure Rules 2024 (SI 2024/1155)
In force 6 January 2025, replacing the 2013 Schedule 1 rules. Case management orders fall under Part 6 (Rules 30–40). Disclosure is Rule 33. Witness-statement practice is governed by case management directions made under Part 6, supplemented by the Presidential Guidance on General Case Management. legislation.gov.uk
Presidential Guidance on Remote and In-Person Hearings
Paragraph 24 sets the electronic-bundle requirements: PDF, OCR-searchable, bookmarks, hyperlinked index ideally. Tribunals have made costs orders against parties filing non-OCR bundles.
Presidential Guidance on General Case Management (2018)
Sets out the standard directions for bundle preparation — the 7-to-14-working-days deadline, the duty to agree the index, and the consequences of late filing.
Your case management order
The specific directions in your case override the general guidance. Read it the day you receive it. Diary every deadline.
What changed in 2025 and 2026
- ACAS Early Conciliation — maximum period doubled from 6 to 12 weeks for cases notified from 1 December 2025.
- Tribunal limitation period — extending from 3 months to 6 months for most claims under the Employment Rights Act 2025, in force from October 2026.
- Unfair dismissal qualifying period — drops from 2 years to 6 months from 1 January 2027. The statutory cap on unfair dismissal compensation has been removed.
- Filing your ET1 as an individual — still done through gov.uk. (The MyHMCTS digital portal is being rolled out as the standard filing route for professional representatives.)
The Master List: How to Decide What Goes In
Group documents into six themes. Every bundle has the same skeleton — only the volume varies.
Tribunal & ACAS paperwork (every claim)
The procedural backbone the judge will look for first. The ET1 and ET3 define the issues; the ACAS certificate proves you crossed the procedural gate.
- ACAS Early Conciliation Certificate (EC certificate number must match your ET1)
- ET1 claim form (as originally submitted)
- ET3 response form (the employer's defence)
- Case management orders and any preliminary hearing directions
- Updated list of issues (if the tribunal has produced one)
- Correspondence with the tribunal (emails, orders, notices)
The contract trail
Your contract is the source document for almost every claim — pay, notice, holiday, deductions, and the implied duty of trust and confidence.
- Employment contract (with any variations or addendums)
- Offer letter and starting-day documents
- Job description (original and any later versions)
- Staff handbook or relevant policies (disciplinary, grievance, equality, sickness)
- Pay structure documents (commission plans, bonus schemes, pension scheme rules)
What actually happened
The narrative evidence. The judge needs to see the chronology of the dispute in writing — emails between you and managers, meeting notes, formal correspondence.
- Emails and messages relevant to the dispute (NOT every email you ever sent)
- Letters: invitation to disciplinary hearings, grievance outcomes, dismissal letter, appeal outcome
- Notes of investigation interviews, disciplinary hearings, grievance hearings
- Performance reviews, capability records, sickness absence records
- Internal complaint or grievance correspondence
- Witness names and contact details (statements come separately)
The money
Even on liability-only claims, the tribunal will want the basic pay picture. For remedy hearings, this section becomes the heart of the bundle.
- Payslips (minimum three months pre-dismissal, more for variable pay)
- P45 (if dismissed)
- P60 for the relevant tax year
- Bank statements showing salary credits (where pay is disputed)
- Pension statements (annual benefit statement; for final salary schemes, the most recent valuation)
- Evidence of mitigation: job applications, interview invitations, new contract of employment, Universal Credit award
- Schedule of Loss (almost always required by case management order in any compensation claim)
Medical and supporting evidence (where relevant)
Disability discrimination, ill-health dismissal, and stress-related claims all rest on medical evidence. Don't bury it — flag it clearly in the index.
- GP notes and consultant letters (relevant entries only — redact unrelated history)
- Occupational Health reports
- Fit notes and sickness certificates
- Disability impact statement (your own description of day-to-day effect)
- Reasonable adjustments correspondence
What does NOT go in the bundle
Putting privileged or irrelevant material in the bundle is one of the fastest ways to lose credibility — and in some cases, to attract a costs order.
- Without Prejudice letters or settlement offers (legally privileged)
- ACAS conciliation correspondence (confidential by statute)
- Internal mediation notes (where confidentiality was promised)
- Emotional venting emails to friends or social media posts (unless directly relevant)
- Documents you have not disclosed to the other side
- Duplicate copies of the same document (one clean copy only)
Step-by-Step: How to Build the Bundle
Nine steps from a folder of documents to a tribunal-ready PDF.
- 1
Gather the universe of documents
Pull together everything that touches the dispute — contract, payslips, emails, dismissal letter, grievance correspondence, medical evidence if relevant. Don't filter yet; just collect.
- 2
Apply the relevance test
For each document ask: would I refer to this at the hearing? If no, leave it out. A short, well-curated bundle wins. The Presidential Guidance lets tribunals impose page limits.
- 3
Sort into sections
Standard sections: A — Tribunal and ACAS documents · B — Contract and policies · C — Correspondence and meeting notes · D — Financial evidence · E — Medical and supporting evidence · F — Witness statements (often a separate bundle).
- 4
Order each section chronologically
Within a section, the earliest document goes first. The tribunal reads the bundle as a story; chronology is what makes it readable.
- 5
Paginate continuously
Page numbers run unbroken through the whole bundle. Section letters are descriptive labels, not pagination resets. Use the format A1 only when your case management order asks for it.
- 6
Build the index
Document title, date, and start page. Ideally hyperlinked. The index is the first page a judge sees — make it clear.
- 7
OCR every page
Paragraph 24 of the Presidential Guidance on Remote and In-Person Hearings is unambiguous: every page of typed text must be searchable. Photographs of letters are not enough.
- 8
Cross-reference your witness statement
Once the bundle is finalised, write 'see page 47' instead of 'see the email'. The tribunal cannot follow you to a page that isn't there.
- 9
File by the case management deadline
Typically 7 to 14 working days before the final hearing. Read your case management order. Aim to file two days early — emails go missing.
Seven Mistakes Litigants in Person Make
Every one of these is fixable — but only if you know to look for it.
1. Filing a bundle that isn't OCR-searchable
Photographs of letters and phone-screenshot PDFs that cannot be searched or copied. Paragraph 24 of the Presidential Guidance on Remote and In-Person Hearings is unambiguous — every page of typed text must be OCR-readable. Tribunals have made costs orders against parties who filed non-OCR bundles.
Fix: Run every PDF through OCR before adding it. BundleCreator runs OCR at export, so the bundle is searchable when it leaves the platform.
2. Mixing privileged Without Prejudice correspondence into the bundle
Settlement offers from your employer's solicitors are legally privileged. Including them is a procedural breach and the tribunal will be invited to disregard them — but the perception damage is done. ACAS-facilitated discussions are confidential by statute.
Fix: Keep a separate folder for WP/ACAS correspondence. Never copy it into the bundle.
3. No pagination, or pagination that resets in every section
The judge needs to direct cross-examination to a specific page. If your witness statement says 'see the letter' instead of 'see page 47', the tribunal cannot follow you. Page numbers must run consecutively through the entire bundle, with section markers as descriptive headers only.
Fix: Use continuous numbering. BundleCreator renumbers automatically when you reorder.
4. Witness statements that don't reference bundle pages
A statement that says 'I sent a letter complaining' is worth less than one that says 'on 14 March 2025 I sent a letter [B47] which Sarah rejected by email [B49]'. Tribunals are increasingly critical of statements that fail to cross-reference — the judge cannot navigate them.
Fix: Build the bundle first, then write the statement against the finalised page numbers.
5. Submitting a 600-page bundle when 60 would do
Volume is not strength. Judges have limited reading time. Stuffing the bundle with every email you ever sent dilutes the documents that actually matter. The Presidential Guidance allows tribunals to impose page limits — and some now do.
Fix: Apply the relevance test: would I refer to this at the hearing? If no, leave it out.
6. Missing the bundle deadline
The case management order sets a date — typically 7 to 14 working days before the hearing. Late filing risks costs orders, postponement applications, or the tribunal refusing to admit late documents under its general case management powers.
Fix: Calendar the date the moment you receive the case management order. Aim to file two days early.
7. Treating the bundle as 'the employer's job'
The respondent prepares the bundle by default — but they only include what they think the tribunal needs. If you have not actively sent them every document you want included, it will not be there.
Fix: Send a numbered list of every document you want included, with copies attached, at least 28 days before the deadline.
All nine steps. £12. About an hour.
Upload your documents, drag them into the right section, type a short label. BundleCreator handles pagination, OCR, the index, bookmarks, and the final PDF export — to Presidential Guidance specifications.
Under an hour
Most claimants finish their first bundle in 45–60 minutes.
Pre-loaded ET templates
ET1, ET3, ACAS certificate, case summary, draft agenda — all wired in.
Automatic OCR at export
Designed to produce a searchable bundle, where the source PDFs allow. No add-ons. No manual steps.
14-day free trial · No credit card required · No subscription needed for one-off bundles
Free Templates and Checklist
Two downloads to help you build the bundle yourself — or get ready before you sign up.
ET Bundle Index Template (CSV)
Six sections pre-labelled. Fill in document titles, dates, and page numbers. Opens in Excel, Numbers, or Google Sheets.
Tribunal-Ready Checklist (PDF)
One page. Every document the judge will look for, split by section. Tick as you go.
Tribunal-Ready Employment Bundle Checklist
Every document the judge will look for, in the order they expect to see it. England and Wales — May 2026.
1Tribunal & ACAS documents
- ACAS Early Conciliation CertificateRequired
- ET1 claim form (as filed)Required
- ET3 response formRequired
- Case management orderRequired
- Any preliminary hearing directions
- + 1 more items in full checklist
2Employment documents
- Employment contract and any variationsRequired
- Job description (original and current)
- Relevant policies (disciplinary, grievance, equality)
- Offer letter and starting-day paperwork
3What actually happened
- Key emails and messages (not all of them)Required
- Disciplinary or grievance correspondence
- Minutes / notes of formal meetings
- Dismissal letter and appeal outcome (if applicable)
- Performance reviews relevant to the issues
4Financial evidence
- Payslips (3 months pre-dismissal minimum)Required
- P45 (if dismissed)
- P60 for the relevant tax year
- Pension statement
- Mitigation evidence
- + 1 more items in full checklist
5Medical evidence (where relevant)
- GP / consultant letters (relevant entries only)
- Occupational Health reports
- Fit notes
- Disability impact statement
- Reasonable adjustments correspondence
6Hearing-day checks
- Bundle paginated continuously (no section restarts)Required
- Every page OCR-searchableRequired
- Index hyperlinked to documents
- Bookmarks for each section
- Witness statements reference bundle pages
- + 2 more items in full checklist
Built for solicitors, barristers, and litigants in person across the UK
The questions claimants ask most often when building their first tribunal bundle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to prepare the tribunal bundle myself?
No. Under standard case management directions, the respondent (your employer) normally prepares the bundle. But you must send them every document you want included. If you cannot agree, you can lodge a supplementary bundle of disputed documents and ask the tribunal to direct inclusion.
How many pages can my employment tribunal bundle be?
There is no universal page limit. The Presidential Guidance allows the tribunal to impose one, and judges increasingly do — typically capping at 250 to 500 pages for short final hearings. Larger discrimination or whistleblowing cases run longer. The test is relevance, not volume.
When does the bundle need to be filed?
Read your case management order. The standard direction is 7 to 14 working days before the final hearing. Preliminary hearings have their own (shorter) bundle deadline, usually 7 days before.
Does the bundle have to be electronic?
For remote and hybrid hearings, yes — paragraph 24 of the Presidential Guidance on Remote and In-Person Hearings requires PDF, OCR-searchable, with bookmarks and ideally hyperlinked index. Some in-person hearings still permit paper, but most tribunals now expect electronic.
What is the difference between an agreed bundle and a supplementary bundle?
An 'agreed bundle' means both parties agree on which documents go in — not that you agree they are accurate. You can challenge any document at the hearing. A 'supplementary bundle' contains documents one side wants included but the other resists; the tribunal decides admissibility.
Has the law on unfair dismissal changed in 2025?
The Employment Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025. From 1 January 2027 the unfair dismissal qualifying period drops from two years to six months. The statutory cap on unfair dismissal compensation has been removed. ACAS Early Conciliation can now last up to 12 weeks (extended from 6 weeks for cases notified to ACAS from 1 December 2025 — see acas.org.uk for current guidance). From October 2026 the time limit for most ET claims extends from 3 to 6 months.
Can I include Without Prejudice settlement letters in the bundle?
No. Without Prejudice correspondence is legally privileged. ACAS conciliation discussions are confidential by statute. Including either is a procedural breach and can attract costs orders. Keep them in a separate file.
Do I need to write a Schedule of Loss?
If you are seeking compensation, yes. The Schedule of Loss itemises every financial loss — wages, pension, statutory entitlements, future loss, and (for discrimination or whistleblowing) injury to feelings. Submit it with your bundle or as directed in the case management order.
What is the qualifying period for unfair dismissal in 2026?
Two years' continuous employment until 31 December 2026. The Employment Rights Act 2025 reduces this to six months from 1 January 2027 with no transitional provisions — so any dismissal on or after that date is judged under the new rule. Some claims (whistleblowing, automatic unfair dismissal, discrimination-tainted dismissal) have always been day-one rights.
What pagination format should my bundle use?
Always follow the format your case management order specifies. Most modern Employment Tribunal orders ask for continuous pagination through the whole bundle (with section letters as descriptive labels). A small minority still specify per-section restart (A1, A2, B1, B2). Read your case management order carefully — and if it isn't clear, ask the tribunal to clarify before you build.
Can BundleCreator really build my bundle for £12?
Yes. Pay-as-you-go is £12 per bundle with no subscription. You upload your documents, drag them into the right section, and BundleCreator handles pagination, OCR, the index, bookmarks, and PDF export. Most litigants in person complete a bundle in under an hour.
Guides & Articles
What Evidence Do I Need for an Unfair Dismissal Claim? A Document-by-Document Guide
Document-by-document guide to the evidence needed for an unfair dismissal claim at the Employment Tribunal. Contract, dismissal letter, disciplinary papers, payslips, Schedule of Loss — what to include and why.
12 min readHow to Prove Discrimination at an Employment Tribunal: The Evidence That Wins
How to evidence a discrimination claim under the Equality Act 2010 — shifting burden of proof, comparators, contemporaneous records, the Vento bands, and what NOT to include in your bundle.
14 min readUnpaid Wages: What Documents Do You Need for an Employment Tribunal?
Unpaid wages and unlawful deduction claims under Part II ERA 1996 — the four document categories, time limits, holiday pay complications, breach of contract jurisdiction, and how to evidence the shortfall.
12 min readHow to Create a List of Documents for the Employment Tribunal: The Disclosure Process
Disclosure in the Employment Tribunal under Rule 33 of the 2024 Procedure Rules. What's relevant, how to build the list, specific disclosure applications, privileged documents, and the consequences of failing to disclose.
12 min readThe Preliminary Hearing at the Employment Tribunal: What You Need to Prepare
How to prepare for a case management preliminary hearing — the three types of PH, the agenda, the list of issues, the mini-bundle, and what the Judge will ask you on the day.
12 min readHow to Write an Employment Tribunal Witness Statement (and Link It to Your Bundle)
Practical guide to writing an employment tribunal witness statement that cross-references the bundle. Format, structure, paragraph numbering, statement of truth, exchange, and the cardinal rule: build the bundle first.
13 min read5 Fatal Mistakes Litigants in Person Make with Employment Tribunal Bundles
The five mistakes that cost litigants in person the most at the Employment Tribunal — non-OCR bundles, Without Prejudice leakage, broken pagination, witness statements without page refs, and treating bundle prep as the employer's job.
11 min readMissed the Employment Tribunal Bundle Deadline? Here's What to Do Next
What to do if you've missed the tribunal bundle filing deadline — emailing the tribunal, the three outcomes the tribunal can choose, costs orders under Part 13 of the 2024 Rules, unless orders, and the postponement application route.
11 min readBundleCreator helps you prepare and organise documents for court and tribunal hearings. We are not a law firm and we do not give legal advice. Wherever you can, please get advice from a qualified legal adviser before your hearing. Read more
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