What is the employment law intake form template?
Someone who's just been fired, or who dreads going into work, tends to call a lawyer with the most upsetting part of the story first. The facts a lawyer needs to triage the case — who the employer is, how long they worked there, how they were paid, and whether they've signed anything — can get lost.
This template asks for those facts in a calm order. Its key question is "Are you still employed there?" Someone who still works there gets a short section about their current situation: whether their hours or duties have changed, whether they've been disciplined, and what they're worried about. Someone who was terminated is asked for the termination date and the reason the employer gave, and whether a severance agreement with a deadline is on the table. Resignation and leave have their own follow-ups.
The client then picks the issue type, tells the story in date order, and uploads the documents they have. Every enquiry is filed as a PDF in your FileIt vault, ready for the lawyer who calls them back.
- Best for
- Employment law firms, workers' rights clinics and union legal services
- Filled in by
- The employee or former employee
- Time to complete
- About 10 to 15 minutes
- Includes
- Job and pay details, signed agreements, still-employed and termination branches, issue checklist, timeline, agency filings, uploads
Who uses a employment law intake form?
- A "tell us what happened" form on an employment firm's website
- Clinics deciding which enquiries need a same-week appointment
- Lawyers reviewing a severance agreement against a signing deadline
- Wage-and-hour practices screening overtime and final-pay claims
- Union representatives gathering facts before a grievance meeting
- Referral services passing a clear summary on to a partner firm
Questions on this employment law intake form
40 questions over 4 pages · includes file upload, conditional questions, multiple pages, consent checkbox.
1 About you
- Your full name*
- Personal email*
- Mobile phone*
- Best way to reach you* Email · Phone call · Text message
- Times that work for a call asked only when it applies
2 Your job
- Employer's name*
- Where you work (city and state)*
- Roughly how many people does the employer have? Fewer than 15 · 15 to 49 · 50 to 499 · 500 or more · Not sure
- Your job title*
- Date you started*
- How are you paid?* Hourly · Salary · Commission or tips · As a contractor (1099)
- Pay rate
- Typical hours per week
- Are you in a union or covered by a union contract?
- Did you sign any of these? An employment contract or offer letter · An arbitration agreement · A non-compete or non-solicitation agreement · A confidentiality agreement · None that I know of
- Are you still employed there?* Yes, I still work there · No, I was terminated or laid off · No, I resigned · I'm on leave
- How are things at work right now? asked only when it applies Nothing has changed yet · My hours, pay, duties or schedule have changed · I've been disciplined or put on a performance plan · I'm worried I'm about to be let go
- What's happening now, and what are you worried might happen next? asked only when it applies
- Termination date* asked only when it applies
- How were you told? asked only when it applies In person · By phone or video · In writing only
- What reason did the employer give?* asked only when it applies
- Have you been offered a severance agreement? asked only when it applies
- Deadline to respond to the severance offer asked only when it applies
- Date you resigned asked only when it applies
- What led you to resign? asked only when it applies
- What kind of leave, and when did it start? asked only when it applies
3 What happened
- What is your issue about?* Unpaid wages or final pay · Overtime or missed breaks · Discrimination · Harassment · Retaliation for complaining or reporting · Being fired or laid off · Medical or family leave · Disability or pregnancy accommodation · Workplace safety · Being treated as a contractor · Reviewing a severance agreement · A non-compete
- Do you believe you were treated differently because of any of these? asked only when it applies Race or colour · Sex or gender · Pregnancy · Age · Disability or health · Religion · National origin · Sexual orientation or gender identity
- Tell us what happened, in date order*
- When did the problem start?
- Did you report or complain about it to anyone?
- Who you told, when, how, and what happened afterwards asked only when it applies
- Have you filed anything with a government agency, such as the EEOC, a state agency or the labor department?
- Which agency, when, and any case number asked only when it applies
- Co-workers or others who saw what happened
4 Documents & goals
- Documents (optional)
- What would you like to come out of this? Money I'm owed · To keep or get back my job · A better severance package · For the treatment to stop · A fair reference · To understand my options
- Any deadlines you know about?
- Have you spoken to another lawyer about this?
- Consent*
The employment law intake form, page by page
1 About you
Name, a personal email (the help text asks people not to use a work address), mobile phone, and the best way to reach them. Choosing a phone call asks for times that work.
2 Your job
Employer's name and location, roughly how many people work there, job title, start date, how they're paid, pay rate, typical hours, union cover and any contract, arbitration, non-compete or confidentiality agreement signed. Then "Are you still employed there?" Yes opens "Your current situation" — "How are things at work right now?" and what they're worried might happen. Terminated requires the termination date and asks "What reason did the employer give?", how they were told, and whether severance was offered, with its response deadline. Resigned and on-leave answers have short follow-ups of their own.
3 What happened
"What is your issue about?" covers wages, overtime, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, termination, leave, accommodation, safety, misclassification, severance and non-competes. Ticking discrimination asks which characteristic was involved. Then the story in date order, when it started, whether and to whom they reported it, any agency filing such as the EEOC, and witnesses.
4 Documents & goals
An optional upload for offer letters, pay stubs, write-ups and messages, what they'd like to come out of it, any deadlines they know about, whether they've spoken to another lawyer, and a consent that no attorney-client relationship exists yet.
Make the template yours
- Rename the agencies in the help text to the ones that apply where you practise
- Remove issue types you don't handle, such as workplace safety
- Add a question about the employer's industry if you specialise
- Point the form at a private folder for the intake team
- Add the duty lawyer's address to the notification emails
- Switch on the emailed copy for respondents if your clients prefer one
Tips for a better employment law intake form
- Check the severance deadline and the termination date as soon as an enquiry arrives — time limits in employment cases can be short
- Run the conflict check on the employer's name before you call back
- Remind callers to keep copies only of documents they're allowed to have
- Read the timeline before the call so the first conversation can go deeper
Every response becomes a PDF in your vault
Each enquiry is filed in your vault as a PDF with any uploads attached, and the firm gets an email. The emailed copy to the worker is off by default, because a shared or work inbox may not be private; you can turn it on in settings.
The Responses table shows every enquiry with its date and answers, and can be exported to CSV for your case tracking.
- Start from this template. It opens in the FileIt Forms designer — change any question, add pages, set the rules for when questions appear.
- Share it. Turn on a public link, or send it to people by email, each with their own link. They don’t need a FileIt account.
- Get the answers as PDFs. Each response is saved as a PDF in the vault folder you choose, with uploaded files attached — and listed in a Responses table you can export to CSV.
Employment law intake form: frequently asked questions
Is this employment law intake template free?
Yes. It's included with FileIt's Forms app on every plan, including free.
Does the worker need to sign up?
No. They open the link and fill it in. Only the firm needs a FileIt account.
Why does the form ask whether they still work there?
The questions a lawyer needs are different for someone still in the job than for someone who's been let go. The answer opens the right follow-ups and hides the rest.
Can someone use it to review a severance offer?
Yes. Severance is one of the issue types, and terminated workers are asked whether they've been offered an agreement and by when they must respond.
Does it tell the worker whether they have a case?
No. It collects facts for a lawyer to review and isn't legal advice.
Can I add my own questions?
Yes. Add, remove or reword anything in the designer before you publish.