Received an ET1 or legal threat? Here’s what to do next (and what not to do)
If you’ve received an ET1, ACAS Early Conciliation contact, or a solicitor’s letter, this has moved out of “people management” territory and into formal risk.
What you do next matters far more than what’s already happened.
At this point, most organisations don’t fail because of the original issue. They fail because of how they respond under pressure.
The moment everything usually goes wrong
By the time an ET1 lands, leaders are often:
angry, defensive, or shocked
desperate to explain “their side”
scrabbling through emails and notes
unsure who should say what, and when
This is where risk multiplies.
Common mistakes I see at this stage:
reacting emotionally rather than strategically
sending inconsistent internal or external messages
letting solicitors spend time reconstructing messy facts
treating the claim as “legal’s problem now”
All of this increases cost, time, and exposure.
What tribunals actually care about
Tribunals are not interested in how stressed you were, how unfair it feels, or how difficult the employee was.
They look for:
a clear chronology of what happened and when
evidence that supports each decision
consistency in how issues were handled
proportionality in the response
process discipline, even under pressure
If those things are missing, even a reasonable decision becomes hard to defend.
This is where most HR approaches fall short
Traditional HR support often reacts:
answering questions as they come in
patching issues in isolation
focusing on compliance rather than strategy
That’s not enough once legal risk is live.
Most HR reacts. I design decisions that stand up later.
At this stage, you don’t need more advice. You need structure, control, and a defensible narrative.
What “good” looks like after a legal threat
A strong response doesn’t start with drafting. It starts with clarity.
That means:
mapping the allegations against the facts
identifying what evidence exists and what doesn’t
understanding which decisions are defensible and which are vulnerable
controlling internal communications so managers don’t create fresh risk
deciding, early, whether you’re defending, negotiating, or containing
This is how you stop panic driving the process.
How I work at this stage
When I’m brought in after an ET1 or legal threat, my role is not to replace your solicitor.
My role is to bridge the gap between what’s happened operationally and what the legal process requires.
I do that by building a Case-Ready Pack, which typically includes:
a clear timeline of events
an evidence map aligned to the allegations
a decision rationale that can be explained and defended
identification of gaps that need closing (or accepting)
support on tone, messaging, and manager conduct going forward
This allows your solicitor to focus on legal strategy, not fact-finding. In practice, that usually means less back-and-forth, fewer billable hours, and better outcomes.
Containment matters more than perfection
At this point, you’re not trying to rewrite history.
You’re trying to:
stop the situation escalating further
prevent inconsistent behaviour creating new claims
protect your managers from saying the wrong thing
regain a sense of control
Handled well, many cases resolve earlier, more cleanly, and with less damage to culture and leadership confidence.
Handled badly, they drag on, drain energy, and often cost far more than they needed to.
If this is you right now
If you’ve received an ET1, ACAS contact, or legal correspondence and things feel tense, messy, or unclear, this is not the moment to improvise.
Start with a Case-Ready Pack.
It’s the fastest way to:
stabilise the situation
reduce legal time spent untangling facts
make informed decisions about defence or settlement
protect your leaders and your business
If you want to talk it through calmly and properly, you can book a Risk Triage or go straight to a Case-Ready Pack depending on how far things have progressed.
You don’t need to panic.
You do need to get organised.
