Employment Tribunal ... what are my chances ?

willsonline

Tell them to stuff it. Its none of their business who you've been applying for!

jdturk

I think the point about showing your efforts is to show you were trying to mitigate your losses and not just enjoying the time off

annaleese

Some useful anecdotal info here and subjective opinions but I'd be inclined to stick to professional advice.

Good luck though :-)

mum2one

From someone whos been there done that with the tribunal, I resigned, but at the same time another manager was sacked, she won her case, but as she had been partly to blame, the verdict was a win (for her), but her compo was reduced to take into account her part in the case.

Mine was unfair constructive dismissal, after a long hard slog, I took an out or court settlement, (the weird thing it was 4 x what the other manager got!!).

These are my thoughts-
Your in the stronger position, that may sound daft, but as its a dismissal the other side have to put their case 1st.

You've got union representation - means your have legal representation on the day

The 'bench' is made of a solicitor, (the main person), then 2 lay persons, which 1 is on the side of the employer, the other is on the side of the person

As for them asking for information regarding what jobs you have applied for etc, is a perfectly acceptable request, and you will have to supply the information- you may feel like its none of their business - BUT - Part of an dismissal case is loss of earnings (inc tax credits that would have been applyable) and say you earnt £400 pw, you had £250 pw, the company would be liable for the difference between the £400 and the £250)

You've gone through JSA, you've applied for jobs, yep you've had some part time work, but this all needs to be prepared,

Noticed u said you'd applied online, have you cleared the history button, mentioned it when you when to sign on, they do keep records
eg - copies of job adverts
- wage slips from part timework
- any records of companies that you applied to
- to show that you haven't put your feet up for 18months, you've done everything you can to secure employment

With my tribunal there was a date set,think it was 14days before the trial when we had to swop documentation that we intended to rely on in court, thats where you would include the earnings. Things to take into account would be pay rises, any bonuses.

When you get the documents back, if there photocopies of the original documents, look for added messages, sometimes the person scribbles a note down, which could be cruical to you.

You've obviously got a really good case otherwise the rail company would not keep cancelling the tribunals.

neil9313

mum2one wrote: »

From someone whos been there done that with the tribunal, I resigned, but at the same time another manager was sacked, she won her case, but as she had been partly to blame, the verdict was a win (for her), but her compo was reduced to take into account her part in the case.

Mine was unfair constructive dismissal, after a long hard slog, I took an out or court settlement, (the weird thing it was 4 x what the other manager got!!).

These are my thoughts-
Your in the stronger position, that may sound daft, but as its a dismissal the other side have to put their case 1st.

You've got union representation - means your have legal representation on the day

The 'bench' is made of a solicitor, (the main person), then 2 lay persons, which 1 is on the side of the employer, the other is on the side of the person

As for them asking for information regarding what jobs you have applied for etc, is a perfectly acceptable request, and you will have to supply the information- you may feel like its none of their business - BUT - Part of an dismissal case is loss of earnings (inc tax credits that would have been applyable) and say you earnt £400 pw, you had £250 pw, the company would be liable for the difference between the £400 and the £250)

You've gone through JSA, you've applied for jobs, yep you've had some part time work, but this all needs to be prepared,

Noticed u said you'd applied online, have you cleared the history button, mentioned it when you when to sign on, they do keep records
eg - copies of job adverts
- wage slips from part timework
- any records of companies that you applied to
- to show that you haven't put your feet up for 18months, you've done everything you can to secure employment

With my tribunal there was a date set,think it was 14days before the trial when we had to swop documentation that we intended to rely on in court, thats where you would include the earnings. Things to take into account would be pay rises, any bonuses.

When you get the documents back, if there photocopies of the original documents, look for added messages, sometimes the person scribbles a note down, which could be cruical to you.

You've obviously got a really good case otherwise the rail company would not keep cancelling the tribunals.

Some good points on this post but there are some incorrect points.

The bench or panel is not on any side.

You only have to respond to something if the ET judge orders you to. But it may help your case if you do so.

dickydonkin

just had a letter from the company with the usual threats ,my claim being vexatious/frivolous with no prospect of succeeding and of course costs if I continue to proceed

Well they would say that wouldn't they?

Yes - the questions are perfectly normal and they are entitled to be asked, but there is something that you may or may not know that could be relevant to any award.

Should you win you case at tribunal, as the posters above have suggested, any income you have received since your dismissal will be taken into consideration AND jobseekers would be within their rights to reclaim any benefits paid by them out of your award - however - should your claim be 'remedied' prior to tribunal, that money will be yours and nobody should have a claim on any of it.

It is very important to consider this if you are offered any settlement prior to tribunal (which is very possible). Factor in any benefits/other money you have received that may reduce a settlement in tribunal and compare that with any award offered before the hearing.

Good luck - although I would be surprised if this goes to tribunal. It seems your old employer is doing a bit of sabre rattling - just ignore it!

BTW - if you lose, you will not (unless in exceptional circumstances) be liable for any costs - although I suspect your legal rep will have told you this anyway.

jdturk

dpassmore wrote: »

It is very important to consider this if you are offered any settlement prior to tribunal (which is very possible). Factor in any benefits/other money you have received that may reduce a settlement in tribunal and compare that with any award offered before the hearing.

I did not know that, its very interesting but another example of where there is an obvious blatent misthought by the law makers, they should just say that as soon as an ET is brought up that any monies transferred from one party to another due to this is accountable to the reclamation of monies paid out.

Ie the tax payers get some of their money back!

dickydonkin

jdturk wrote: »

I did not know that, its very interesting but another example of where there is an obvious blatent misthought by the law makers, they should just say that as soon as an ET is brought up that any monies transferred from one party to another due to this is accountable to the reclamation of monies paid out.

Ie the tax payers get some of their money back!

I agree.

It certainly applied to jsa. When Mrs.P took her former employer to tribunal last year, she was informed that any jsa that had been paid after her dismissal could be claimed back by JCP after an ET award had been paid out.

She was offered a sum prior to the hearing which was a little less than the solicitor expected could potentially be awarded at tribunal, however, when the JSA that she had received was taken into consideration, there was only a few hundred quid difference.

Accepting the offer also removed the gamble of a tribunal (although a Barrister had concluded that there was a 70% likelihood of success), however, you just never know. Also, attending the tribunal would have required Mrs.P to take a day off work in a job that she had only just acquired - so all in all, it was a satisfactory outcome.

BTW for the OP, she too was informed from her ex employer and his consultants that she would be wasting her time etc.......

greendollar

So the general consensus is that meeting the DWP criteria for JSA is not enough then , this does concern me as most if not all rejection letters have gone in the bin so the little info I can get together is going to look pretty poor when presented to the Tribunal . I suppose the fact that I have been working part-time ( somewhat limited though ) will show that I am willing to work .
I've already written a statement as part of my bundle explaining my situation but this doesn't seem to be enough , or maybe they're just being awkward again.

I think a statement outlining I've met my obligations trying to find work to the DWP and that has been sufficient to claim JSA will do for the time and I'll wait to see if the Tribunal orders me to supply them with more detailed info .... and sit down do a lot of head scratching if they do.

jdturk

I wouldn't bother waiting, I would start gathering your evidence now