In The Scottish Ambulance Service Board v Chapman [2025] EAT 164, the claimant started an Employment Tribunal claim for disability discrimination. 

But there was a problem.

They ticked the disability box on the ET1 claim form…they left the space where you're meant to explain what happened (Box 8.2) —completely blank.

The Tribunal accepted the claim and set directions.

The employer appealed.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) agreed with the employer.

Why?

Because the Tribunal should not accept a claims if there are no details at all about what happened.​

Most people bringing a claim are stressed, rushed, or unfamiliar with the form. It’s easy to think“I’ll tick the box now and explain later.”

This case shows that can go wrong.

When a claim gives no information, the Tribunal must pause and ask:

“Can the respondent sensibly respond to this?”

If the answer is no, the Tribunal has to send the claim to a judge before it goes any further.
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Here are important lines from the judgment — in plain English afterward:

“Where the Tribunal receives a claim which may not be in a form which can sensibly be responded to, the staff shall refer the claim to an Employment Judge.”

This means: if your claim has no information, the Tribunal must ask a judge whether it can continue.

“The Tribunal could not rely on later directions to cure an initial jurisdictional defect.”

Meaning: They can’t fix a broken claim later by giving deadlines or asking questions. It has to start properly.

“A wholesale absence of particulars is materially different from a mere lack of detail.”

Meaning: Short and simple is fine. Completely blank is not.​

As a claimant, you don’t need to write a novel in your ET1. But you do need to give: