Question about claimants statement

SarEl

joanne_d wrote: »

Ok....now im even more confused lol.

At the cmd the judge ordered that the completed bundles had to be at the tribunal office by 6th Aug which is the week before the actual hearing. At no point has anyone ever mentioned the date upon which i have to have the documents i want included in the bundle sent to the respondents solicitor?

Another stupid (sorry) question is do i just send all the documents i want included TO THE SOLICITOR in any random order ? If i do this this then how does she know where to place them in the bundle etc ?

Also , the solicitor already has all of the documents from me.....i sent them to her as part of the discovery process way back in Feb , do i have to send them again or do i just tell her which ones i want her to include ?

Confused.......

OK. Let's try and sort this out.

There should have been a date for excahnge of bundles - this may have become confused because one side is preparing the entire bundle. So here's what you need to do. Order all your documents in date order. Put your husbands statement first, then other statements (if there are any) in date order behind that, then any other documents in date order. In front of this put a "front page" - a list of the order of the documents you have supplied. It's a good idea to put page numbers on each page in order (in other words, treat them like a book - start at 1 onthe first page and just keep going to the last) and then reference the title page of each document on the front page

Hubbie Jim's statement datedXXXX Page 1
Fred's statement dated XXXX Page 7

Send that to the solicitor. If they already have all the documents then there is no reason why you shouldn't do this now. Ask them to confirm receipt of the bundle and to inform you of the date when the full bundle (including their documents) will be made available and whether they will be posting this to you or expect it collected (or whatever is appropriate). If you can, hand deliver it and ask for a receipt - otherwise send it recorded delivery.

This is all a bit "over the top" - generally it isn't so difficult, but it appears that this solictor is going to be hard to deal with so just go with the flow and be very pedantic about it. You could just let her have a list of the documents (in order) to include but she may simply exploit this saying she hasn't got them all or some other such excuse.

Happier?

viktory

SarEl wrote: »

I am not sure what this sentence means. Whose case is non-existent? If it is the employers, it is a pretty bald statement - in relation to cases of this sort (bullying) they can very easily go pear-shaped. Without knowing the full details (and I am very interested in the ptrevious disciplinary too!) it's hard to say with any accuracy, but I would never assume, even on seeing the actual paperwork, that such a case is an easy win. It's worth remembering (and if you didn't see an employment specialist, solicitors tend to forget) that the rules of evidence for a dismissal are not those of other parts of the law. The employer only has to evidence that there is "reasonable belief" that smeone has done something, and that if dismissal is the outcome that it is "proportional" to the circumstances.

That said, he has not yet been dismissed and don't assume he will be (unless there is more to this than you have said). In cases of bullying and harassment it is the norm (and legally advisable) to suspend the alleged bully unless an employer can be certain that they can manage the potential risk in the workplace. The risk being, of course, and an aggressor may intimidate or influence either the complainant or other people. If they do not do so, then further incidents (or allegations of them) may be made and the employer can become legally liable for any harm caused. Employers tend therefore to be very very careful.

I am fine for best friends , but I will try to post if you need any help. Currently I am fortunately not in court as I had a big commitment postponed due to the judge being ill, so I am around a bit. But if in court, I am often very tied up for many hours and days. So kick the post up the list and I will find it!

Edit
By the way, I am also very interested in the fact that the employer allowed you to tape the meeting (I believe you said they gave permission?) - which is far from common. But it says something. Exactly what that is I can't be certain. One possibility is that they are supremely confident of their case. Another is that they do not believe the allegations and therefore aren't worried about it ever seeing the light of day! So it could be very good news - or not!

Yeah, sorry my comment re the solicitor was a bit flippant, I haven't spoken to the solicitor and so the information I am getting is third hand. I do know that the solicitor was very positive in relation to the case being weak and not handled correctly. My husband's colleague (the one who has been and seen the solicitor) is going to show me the letter the solicitor is writing so once I have had sight of that I will be in a better position to advise.

Interesting comment about the recording. It might be that they allowed this months ago and then felt that they had set a precedent *shrugs* I have no idea where his employer are coming from most of the time.

I am happy to give further detail and delighted to receive advice etc but don't want to hijack this thread any further so I will start a new thread shortly. Warning in advance, I will summarise as much possible but it will be a long thread.

joanne_d_3

SarEl wrote: »

OK. Let's try and sort this out.

There should have been a date for excahnge of bundles - this may have become confused because one side is preparing the entire bundle. So here's what you need to do. Order all your documents in date order. Put your husbands statement first, then other statements (if there are any) in date order behind that, then any other documents in date order. In front of this put a "front page" - a list of the order of the documents you have supplied. It's a good idea to put page numbers on each page in order (in other words, treat them like a book - start at 1 onthe first page and just keep going to the last) and then reference the title page of each document on the front page

Hubbie Jim's statement datedXXXX Page 1
Fred's statement dated XXXX Page 7

Send that to the solicitor. If they already have all the documents then there is no reason why you shouldn't do this now. Ask them to confirm receipt of the bundle and to inform you of the date when the full bundle (including their documents) will be made available and whether they will be posting this to you or expect it collected (or whatever is appropriate). If you can, hand deliver it and ask for a receipt - otherwise send it recorded delivery.

This is all a bit "over the top" - generally it isn't so difficult, but it appears that this solictor is going to be hard to deal with so just go with the flow and be very pedantic about it. You could just let her have a list of the documents (in order) to include but she may simply exploit this saying she hasn't got them all or some other such excuse.

Happier?

SarEL.

You are a gem...has anyone ever told you that :T.

It all seems clearer now after reading your post.

This is not how i thought it worked....i thought myself and the solicitor communicated and discussed what should go in the bundle lol.

Im so much happier now......i know that the joint bundle needs to be at the tribunal office by 6th Aug so id best get my skates on and get my documents etc to her !

Seriously though , you have no idea how much i appreciate the help you have given me . To have this as a profession and then use your free time to help others says a lot about what kind of person you are x

Thanks again

Joanne

joanne_d_3

viktory wrote: »

Yeah, sorry my comment re the solicitor was a bit flippant, I haven't spoken to the solicitor and so the information I am getting is third hand. I do know that the solicitor was very positive in relation to the case being weak and not handled correctly. My husband's colleague (the one who has been and seen the solicitor) is going to show me the letter the solicitor is writing so once I have had sight of that I will be in a better position to advise.

Interesting comment about the recording. It might be that they allowed this months ago and then felt that they had set a precedent *shrugs* I have no idea where his employer are coming from most of the time.

I am happy to give further detail and delighted to receive advice etc but don't want to hijack this thread any further so I will start a new thread shortly. Warning in advance, I will summarise as much possible but it will be a long thread.

Viktory , please dont feel like you are hijacking my thread....we are all here looking for help so im happy to share my thread with you.

Theres some excellent people on here and if they can help us both then thats a bonus.

Joanne

SarEl

joanne_d wrote: »

SarEL.

You are a gem...has anyone ever told you that :T.

It all seems clearer now after reading your post.

This is not how i thought it worked....i thought myself and the solicitor communicated and discussed what should go in the bundle lol.

Im so much happier now......i know that the joint bundle needs to be at the tribunal office by 6th Aug so id best get my skates on and get my documents etc to her !

Seriously though , you have no idea how much i appreciate the help you have given me . To have this as a profession and then use your free time to help others says a lot about what kind of person you are x

Thanks again

Joanne

You are entirely welcome. The situation you have is far from unique, but the "normal situation" (when both sides are represented) is that we each prepare our own bundles and literally exchange them, and this may be the first time the other side has seen some of the documents - although not always. When one side prepares the bundle as in your side, whilst not unusual, it can lead to confusion and difficulty. But don't worry. The tribunal really will help you to understand everything and you can ask - they are used to answering "obvious questions" - obvious to a lawyer anyway! You can even ask during the tribunal. You don't get points deducted for not understanding:) Good luck

joanne_d_3

HELLLLPPPPPP....

SarEl , im helping my husband prepare his statement . It is going ok so far because we kept such detailed notes of the whole disciplinary process....what we are not sure about however is when should the statement end ?

Any suggestions ?

Thanks again.

SarEl

You end the statement when there are no further matters relating to the dismissal - probably at the end of the appeal, unless further related matters have come to light since. Conversations about the case itself don't get included unless they are directly relevant to the matter that the tribunal is hearing. Does that make sense? It's a bit hard explaining it because I don't know what matters might be relevant. But basically it's anything about the sacking.

joanne_d_3

Makes perfect sense as always sarEL , thanks ever so much.

Joanne.