Orientation · Know the other side

Understanding the employer's side

6 min read · Reviewed 22 June 2026

Even Footing is built for the claimant — the worker bringing the claim. But to argue your case well, you need to understand how the other side will argue theirs. This page explains how an employer typically responds, so you can prepare for it rather than be caught out.

Why this matters

A claim is not decided in a vacuum. The employer will put forward its own account, and the tribunal weighs both. Knowing in advance how the other side will frame events lets you gather the evidence that answers them — the single biggest thing that separates a prepared litigant from an unprepared one.

The other side will usually have help

Most employers defend a claim with support you may not have: an HR team, in-house or external lawyers, and sometimes an insurer. That imbalance is real, and it is exactly the gap this platform exists to narrow. You may not match their resources, but you can match them on preparation — clarity, evidence, and knowing the rules.

How an employer answers: the ET3

The employer responds to your claim form using a form called the ET3. It will usually deny discrimination and set out an innocent, non-discriminatory explanation for what happened — for example that a decision was about performance, redundancy, or conduct, not a protected characteristic. Expect this; it is the normal shape of a defence, not a sign your claim is weak.

Their likely defence: an innocent explanation

The law gives the employer room to explain. Showing only that you have a protected characteristic and were treated badly is not enough on its own — the tribunal needs 'something more' from which discrimination can properly be inferred before the burden shifts to the employer. The employer will press exactly that point. Your task is to identify the something more: the comparator, the inconsistency, the shifting reasons, the timing.

Use it to prepare, not to despair

Understanding the employer's advantages is not a reason to give up; it is a reason to prepare well and early. Anticipate their explanation, gather the documents that test it, and be honest with yourself about the strong and weak parts of your own case. That is how you meet a better-resourced opponent on even footing.