Employment Tribunal ... what are my chances ?

zzzLazyDaisy

What has been going on is that your employer's in-house legal team have sat on the file, done nothing about it, and then passed it onto private solicitors at the last minute. They didn't have time to prepare properly or get to grips with the issues in the case, and probably never even had the full set of papers.

It may be that the in house legal team has only just sent your statements across to the private solicitors, who knows?

The fact is the solicitors who are now dealing with the case have been handed a poison chalice because if/when they lose, it will be them who get the blame, not your former employer and not their in house legal team.

Don't try to understand what is happening. The whole thing is a mess and I doubt that there is some great conspiracy, it is much more likely to be a combination of incompetence and one hand not knowing what the other is doing.

Hang in there, and good luck!

greendollar

Hi zzzLazyDaisy ,

I've see your a retired employment lawyer and thank you for your comments .

I expect that you are most probably right but have ever come across such incompetence from such a big employer ? I can't help but feel its a tactic they are using and are trying to pull the wool over the tribunals eyes .
Take the bundle..........its my understanding that both sides have to agree what goes into the bundle right ?
My ex-employer not only handed it over to us 3 days before the hearing but ommitted all the documents we wanted to be put in . I believe this was a deliberate tactic by them to get any evidence we have thrown out .
The judge was livid but gave them even more time even though they had failed to comply with the order , how much longer can they plead ignorance which is what they are still doing by their latest demands . They have had all the information/documents for over a year now ...... how far will the tribunal let them go ?

almond

hope you get sorted you think yours is a joke mine was worst , first hearing one took ill, thats after being outside having a cig , told judge he was having a heart attack, that was the last i ever saw of them. Never turned up for next 3 hearing, I told judge that they had moved to scotland, took no notice. In the end I was awarded £15k and the judge wished me good luck in getting the money. 18 months down the line and I have got a ccj but they have done a runner again. Mine could have been simple if the judge had listened and made them disclose info regarding new address or at least something were i could find them. Good luck

DVardysShadow

First point: I think zzzLazyDaisy makes a good case for it being stopcock up rather than conspiracy.

Second point, don't get your hopes up too much, but from what I read, when a judge is annoyed by a party in a case, he goes out of his way to give them plenty of slack. This is to avoid giving grounds for appeal when he rules against them - and also when there is more slack, people intent on hanging themselves do it more effectively.

If the judge is aware of the change of your opponent's representation, the adjournment is probablly to allow them to get their heads around it. If the new solicitors find this case to be a poison chalice, they may recommend that their client settles out of court.

Bear in mind that the employer's in house legal team would be under the corporate thumb, probably with a remit from HR not to settle - even though they may have a different view as to the right course. When you didn't go away, the in house team were probably only too glad to palm it off on an outside company - who could find it easier to recommend that your employer settles out of court [and claim a fat fee].

It is dangerous to encourage you to think that your claim is in the bag. But do just ask yourself whether the employer would be going down this road if they actually thought their case was open and shut.

zzzLazyDaisy

greendollar wrote: »

Hi zzzLazyDaisy , have ever come across such incompetence from such a big employer ??

Yes, many times. Most in-house legal departments do not have a specialist employment lawyer on their team - there are not enough tribunal cases to justify this. It is also no fun having your employer for a client, especially when you are preparing a dismissal case and have to answer to the Head of Department that dealt with the dismissal.... who is probably on a much higher grade than you are....

So basically everyone hopes it will all go away, no-one does anything about it, and in the end they palm it out to private practice often at the very last minute and often with half the papers missing and no clear instructions (I have been that private practice lawyer!)

The same sort of thing happens when you get a small employer trying to defend the case themselves - they are too close to the problem.

There is a saying among lawyers.... 'Only a fool has himself for a client'

Having said all that, D's Shadow is right - there are never any guarantees in litigation and employment tribunal proceedings are no exception. All you can do is attend the tribunal and tell the truth.

greendollar

Thank you for all your comments , they do make alot of sense about how my ex-employer has handled my case .... I just find it incredible how they make a mockery of the tribunals aim to have all cases resolved in 26 weeks .
I'll keep you updated as to how the case management phone conference goes in a couple of weeks .....

hr100

greendollar wrote: »

Thank you for all your comments , they do make alot of sense about how my ex-employer has handled my case .... I just find it incredible how they make a mockery of the tribunals aim to have all cases resolved in 26 weeks .
I'll keep you updated as to how the case management phone conference goes in a couple of weeks .....

Keep going :j

It must be really tough as I had six months of this and every time I had a letter accusing me of this and that I fell to pieces so god knows what you are like after 2 years!

greendollar

UPDATE

Case management phone conference postponed to a later date due to ill health ........ its like banging your head against a brickwall

zzzLazyDaisy

Ill health of WHO???

1 The clients are not needed at a case conference as it is a matter for lawyers only (although clients can attend of course)

2 Unavailability of a legal representative is not grounds for postponement (it is assumed that there is more than one solicitor in the firm, so they are expected to get someone else to take over the file).

tbh I think your rep needs to be writing to the ET in firm but respectful terms, with a chronology of the events and postponements that have taken place during these proceedings, and asking that efforts are made to bring this case to a hearing as quickly as possible. Particularly bearing in mind the respondent's repeated costs threats against the claimant - notwithsanding the fact that the delays have all been at the behest of the respondent.

This is, frankly, outrageous!

Daisy

greendollar

I'm afraid its the tribunal judge that postponed zzzLazyDaisy but it has given us the chance to forward the correspondance (Simms v Mckee) that you provided , many thanks . Hopefully the solicitors now dealing with the case will push for my ex-employer to settle now rather than risk their own threats being used against them which are numerous and well documented . At the tribunal , where the judge refused their request for information regarding my income/assets and specific dates and names of employers I have applied to , they still insisted that they would be going for costs (£10'000) even though they knew I was unemployed stating that they would obtain an order to deduct the money from my benefits .