Tribunal - Should I accept the first offer?

Philippa36

I was never given a contract.

I assume the son has taken over what was my role as he's still there answering the telephone and dealing with the admin.

getmore4less

Philippa36 wrote: »

I was never given a contract.

I assume the son has taken over what was my role as he's still there answering the telephone and dealing with the admin.

I don't think they could lay you off without pay then.

Even thought you don't want to "take them to the cleaners" a decent company would have to give you consultation then notice/PILON and redundancy.

I would go for the full loss of wages and the redundancy payment, as londondulwich says there are other payments due which you should try for.

Would working till June 29 have give you another years service? then I would think about adding another weeks redundancy.

I am not sure how a ttribunal would deal with you trying to find new work to mitigate losses, a JSA claim would probably be enough normaly. Might be worrth collecting any evidence you were looking for work, like job applications and any interview dates.

Philippa36

I have emailed the conciliation guy back to tell him exactly what I shall be claiming at the tribunal (redundancy & PILON & compensation for unfair dismissal & compensation for loss of earnings from 1st Feb to 29th June).

I haven't claimed JSA as I'm not entitled, however, I have a very long list of applications that were sent out, starting on the 1st Feb and all interview dates.

I shall wait with interest to see what the next offer is.

(I also told him that I considered the first offer to be derisory )

Philippa36

I have been contacted by my former boss' solicitor - is this appropriate in the circumstances? Should he be contacting me via the conciliation officer at ACAS?

Due to the late date, my claim for unfair dismissal cannot be dealt with on Friday but I have been told that I could delay the Tribunal and put in my claim for unfair dismissal, but on advice from the Tribunal offices, I am going ahead with Fridays court date and can submit the unfair dismissal afterwards (the judge has already admitted that I have a case)

londondulwich

As you do not have legal representation the lawyer contacting you direct is normal. The lawyer would only contact you indirectly via ACAS or another mediation service if he had a settlement figure.

Could you breakdown who said what to whom and when?

If the application to amend was successful I don't understand the delay. There are no complexities, the circumstances are the same and there is no groundbreaking or subtle interpretation of law involved.

The only difference is mathematical.

Philippa36

I think my last line was wishful thinking! I would have to be 'given leave to put forward a case for unfair dismissal'. Apparently, my ET1 claim form does not mention unfair dismissal therefore they cannot consider it on Friday. I really should have got legal representation :rolleyes:

Why would the solicitor contact me if he wasn't going to make me an offer?!

londondulwich

The application to amend your claim is the same as a request for leave to amend.

An application to amend must give the tribunal 10 days to consider it before the hearing date.

However the rules which govern employment tribunals give the judges wide powers to exercise their discretion. Employment judges can be very flexible with regard to deadlines.

When deciding whether to allow an amendment the tribunal will first look at whether you are within the 3 month time limit.

As the dismissal happened in February/ March you are not.

The next step will be to consider what category your amendment falls into. It is not a clerical error and it is not seeking to introduce a new claim based on new events.

You are asking for a new claim to be allowed from the existing set of circumstances.

The judge will then consider the balance of hardship and injustice caused if your application is allowed or denied.

On balance, if your request to amend is denied, you will suffer the greater hardship as you will be unable to submit a new claim.

Was your email of last Friday received and processed? If so, has the judge allowed or refused your application?

Philippa36

Yes, the email was received and processed. I was told that the unfair dismissal claim could not be considered today but if I wanted to proceed with my claim then I would be given leave to submit the new claim.

The solicitor has been ringing constantly, I can't answer my phone at work (I work as a GP receptionist and don't generally check messages between 8-4). The guy from ACAS knew this but the solicitor said that the guy from ACAS was difficult to get hold of and hadn't come back with a settlement figure - mainly because I hadn't given him one!

The tribunal is today, I'm really terrified but I'm going ahead with it. I'm sure they will try to settle on the steps of the tribunal offices but I wouldn't be surprised if I agreed a figure beforehand, I'd ever see the money owing.

I shall be going along with all the information you've given me and feel a lot more prepared than I was before. Thank you!

Emmzi

good luck!

pawpurrs

Good Luck, I know how you feel that was me three weeks ago, hope your outcome is as fruitful.