Employment Tribunal Merits Bundle

The merits bundle is the core hearing bundle for an Employment Tribunal final hearing — the single, agreed set of documents both parties and the panel work from when the tribunal decides whether liability is established. It grows out of the disclosure process: each side lists their relevant documents, agrees what goes in, and the respondent usually compiles the final bundle.

"Agreed" doesn't mean the parties accept each other's version of events — it means they've agreed on which documents to include. A document that strongly supports the claimant's case goes in even if the respondent disputes what it shows, and the same applies in reverse.

The bundle follows a standard structure under the Employment Tribunal Procedure Rules 2024: tribunal and ACAS documents first — ET1, ET3, ACAS certificate, case management orders — then the substantive documents in chronological order, with witness statements either included or exchanged separately as directed. A poorly prepared bundle can cost a party dearly: in one notable case, a £20,000 costs order was made against a respondent whose solicitor produced a 6,500-page bundle described by the tribunal as "seemingly randomly thrown together."