As well as if you can take your case to employment tribunal, you need to think about if you really want to take your case to employment tribunal.

This guide covers the law and process in England and Wales.

Understand where you may be able to get free legal advice about your case if you need to take an issue to tribunal. Getting advice will ensure you are on the right track, increase your chances of putting your case well and reduce your stress and worry. Getting free advice isn't always easy though, so it is best to start as soon as possible.

This guide is about dispute resolution and the ways you can use it to sort out a legal problem before or instead of going to court. It explains what your other options might be and how to use them effectively, including how to complain, negotiate, use mediation or arbitration services, or complain to an Ombudsman. This is called alternative dispute resolution.

This guide will take you through the key steps to identify and find the right defendant to take to court. This may seem simple, but is easy to get wrong and can have very serious consequences for your case. It will help with claims about money owed, where there has been a breach of contract, where you have suffered loss and/or injury where somebody else was to blame.

The information in this guide applies to England and Wales only.

When you take someone to court there are strict time limits you have to follow - this is called the limitation period. This guide will help you to check how much time you have got to start your civil claim. It is part of series about taking someone to the civil court to sort out a problem or disagreement between you and another person or organisation(s). This series will help if you are thinking of taking any kind of money claim about breach of contract, compensation, or personal injury - including road traffic accidents. You might use the small claims court or the fast-track process in a county court.

Understand the fees solicitors charge for their work and who pays them at the end of the case. Even if you don’t have a solicitor to help you, you may have to pay for the other side’s solicitor. If they win their case, litigants in person can ask the loser to pay for the time they have spent preparing the case. 

This guide explains those rules, and how to keep your legal costs to a minimum. It also explains the rules about who pays for the other expenses connected to the case. This guide explains legal costs in small claims and fast track cases only. 

The rules are different for multi-track claims – and are too complex for us to explain here. 

The information in this guide applies to England and Wales only. 

Understand what you need to know about court procedure before you start a court case against someone. Once you have decided to start a claim, and got the bulk of your evidence together, you need to check if there is a pre-action protocol for your type of case before you begin your claim. This guide will show you how. It is part of a series about sorting out disputes in the civil court (including small claims).

Understand what happens and what you have to do after you start a civil claim and before you get to the final hearing. This guide shows you what you have to provide to the court in a civil court case and explains the process of 'allocation' and 'directions', what the do with the 'pre-trial checklist', how to prepare a 'chronology', what to do if the other side doesn't obey the court's instructions, or what to do if you cannot. It is part of a series about taking someone to the civil court to sort out a problem or disagreement. You can start a civil claim about money owed, broken contracts (often called ‘breach of contract’), compensation, and personal injury - including road traffic accidents and workers compensation. You might take someone to the small claims court, or use the fast-track in a county court.

Understand how to ask a civil court to do something after you start your claim and before the trial. You might make an interim application if you needed to change some of the details of your case, ask the court to change the timetable for the case, or ask the court to make the other side do something. This guide is part of a series of guides about taking someone to the civil court to sort out a problem or disagreement and covers cases about money owed, broken contracts (often called ‘breach of contract’), compensation, and personal injury - including road traffic accidents or an accident at work. You might use the small claims court, or the fast-track or multi-track process in a county court.

The information in this guide applies to England and Wales only. 

Understand how to settle a civil case out of court, how to make an offer to settle and what to do if the 'other side' suggests a settlement. It is normal to try to settle the dispute as more information comes to light and the court expects you to do so if you can. It should not be seen as 'climbing down'. If you don't accept a reasonable offer it can cost you. This guide is part of a series of guides about sorting out a problem or disagreement in the civil court covering debt and consumer cases, small claims, breach of contract, and personal injury including road traffic accidents and accidents at work.