Disciplinary Hearing Help??????

mrg22

We went and got some face to face advice today, at first I wasn't sure she knew what she was talking about however it turned out to be quite a valuble session for which we are most grateful. I'm feeling a little stressed today, it all seems quite daunting but i'm sure we will get there with the help of you guys, I truly believe they should not be allowed to get away with this. We need to start asking some people for witness statements all have said that they will so hopefully these will help.
For now I suppose we need to complete our forms and then my OH needs to go job hunting.

zzzLazyDaisy

Glad to hear you have some support in the real world!

Do let us know how you go on, and if we can help at all, just shout!

tandraig

Ive been following this thread but not said anything until now cos lazydaisy been giving such good advice. I went through an ET and so did my son - but entirely different circumstances. but I do feel for your OH and wish him the best. will keep an eye on this thread and if I can help in any way I will. in meantime please try to keep calm (easier said than done) and to be positive. ACAS site was really good - so was my solicitor - but I do know how aggreived you must feel. you have my support on virtual world and please let us know how you are getting on - if only to vent your feelings - and you will need to!

mrg22

Thanks guys for your support!!!

mrg22

tandraig - What were your experiences of a tribunal? My Oh is a bit daunted by what he needs to do, well to be honest we arn't all that sure what we are supposed to do - we have been told to get our evidence together, but what does that really mean, Do we write a statement and refer to our evidence, therefore I assume we need to correlate it all together?
I think I'll have a browse on the net, but in the mean time any ideas from you good folk would be much appreciated

zzzLazyDaisy

Hi, try to take it one step at a time. This is a rough outline of what to do/expect:

1. You have 3 months to make the claim. The time limit is very strictly adhered to. Start with the date of dismissal, in your case 4th Sept. Go forward 3 calendar months to 4th December, then one day back. So the absolute last day that the tribunal will accept your claim is 3rd December (but I always say allow at least a week in case of unforseen events, like flu or family emergency)

2 You can make the claim online. This is good because you get an immediate receipt. You must list all the claims. In your case this is Unfair Dismissal. If the employer owes money, for example they fail to pay holiday pay, and notice pay, then you would also claim 'unlawful deduction from wages' and 'breach of contract'. You then set out a short outline of what happened. It doesn't need to be chapter and verse at this stage, just enough for the tribunal to know what your claim is about.

3 The claim is sent to the employer who gets three weeks to reply. Again, they just have to explain why they disagree with your claim - the full detail comes later.

4 The next step is usually for the tribunal to issue directions. This means both sides get a list of what they are required to do. It will include preparing witness statements, and giving the other side copies of any documents that they will be referring to at the hearing. You will also be asked if there are any dates that you are unable to attend a hearing (such as holidays, hospital appointments etc) and how many witnesses you will be calling (usually for the employee it is just himself, and sometimes also the person who attended as their witness)

5 you make a list of all the documents you want to show the tribunal, and you also prepare a statement setting out in detail what happened, and why you think the dismissal was unfair. If the person who accompanied you is also attending as a witness, then you will need to help them to prepare a statement explaining their part and what they witnessed. Witness statements should be signed and dated. The documents and the witness statements are your 'evidence'. In your case there was a tape recording. That is also evidence, and you should type up a full word for word transcript and include it in your documents (the tape should also be available at the hearing as evidence of the unfair way that the disciplinary was conducted).

6 You will give copies of your statement(s) and documents to the employer and they will do the same. This must be done by the date given in the Directions.

7 You must prepare 3 statements for the tribunal and one for each of your witnesses. The employer does the same and is also responsible for making a 'bundle of documents' which includes all the documents from both sides (but if they are not legally represented, it is best to do that yourself)

8 You will attend the hearing. The employer's witnesses will give their evidence first by reading from their statement and referring to the documents. Then OH asks questions and if he doesnt agree with something that has been said, he points this out. Then OH (and his witness, if any) does the same. If OH has a solicitor the questioning is done by the solicitor, if you don't have a solicitor the Chairman of the Tribunal helps you to present your case and will often ask questions him/herself.

Then you wait for the decision. Often it will be given verbally on the day, and followed up by a written decision a week or so later.

But the important thing is not to get too bogged down with it all, but just take it one step at a time. Once the claim is made ACAS get involved and they will talk you through what happens and will also try to see if an agreement can be reached. The majority of cases settle 'out of court', with a payment (and often an agreed reference).

I hope this hasn't made it seem even more complicated.

We will be here to help you through it

mrg22

Thanks for that Lazydaisy, Doesn't seem quite so bad!!!!

ohreally

Although you're not at this stage yet, i would strongly urge you to contact the clerk at you nearest tribunal centre and ask if you can sit in on a forthcoming unfair dismissal hearing -allow up to three days for the hearing unless it's unusually complex.
This may help you to understand the process and perhaps find it a little less daunting.

mrg22

Thankyou for that advice 'ohreally', That seems a very good idea!!!!!! I will look into it, I didn't realise it could take so long!!! - 3 days!!!!!

ohreally

Many hearings are of fairly short duration - you don't need to spend the full time observing, a ½ day would be sufficient.