is outstanding on the termination of employment. The employment tribunals also can only hear certain types of claim for breach of contract, under the Employment Tribunals (Extension of Jurisdiction) Orders 1994, which are statutory instruments. There are two orders, one for Scotland and one for England and Wales. Both an employer and an employee may bring claims for a reference to be made to an employment tribunal for a declaration as to the contents of a statement of particulars of employment, which may arise if there is a dispute as to the content of a contract. Tribunals are intended to be informal and to encourage parties to represent themselves. There is no special court dress or complex civil procedure rules as at the County Court. The confidential use of conciliation is encouraged, and parties have an Acas officer assigned to most claims to assist the parties in reaching a binding agreement to end the claim. All communications with Acas are subject to privilege and are confidential unless the party waives that right. The parties may also settle a claim by a settlement agreement, or, if at a hearing, by drawing up a Tomlin Order and asking the employment tribunal to agree to the disposal of the case in accordance with that order. If a person habitually and without reasonable excuse brings vexatious proceedings in the employment tribunals, a government law officer may apply to the Employment Appeal Tribunal for an order declaring that person to be a vexatious litigant, which has the effect of barring that person from bringing further proceedings in the employment tribunals without the consent of the Employment Appeal Tribunal. Hearings Prior to a hearing case management may take place to hand down directions as to how the full hearing will be heard. This can be by one of several means, either through correspondence between the parties and the employment tribunal or in a case management discussion (CMD). An increasing number of case management discussions take place by telephone. The Employment Tribunals Rules of Procedure allow for several types of hearing: A Case Management Discussion; (this is used to clarify issues and determine the Directions for a case). A Pre-Hearing Review (to determine the entitlement of a party to bring or defend proceedings), or an entitlement to Interim Relief (a form of preliminary finding in certain types of claim involving Trade Union activities or making a protected