Employment tribunal - how much to claim???

Jenx

Sorry if this sounds a bit ditzy but i would really welcome some input and opinions here....
I am currently completing a claim for constructive dismissal due to bullying and harrasment, I wont go into the details, but I left on 16th Nov and my salary at the time was 34500 per annum. I started working a temp job on 20th January which pays 16680 per annum - because of my reference, I cant get back into my field of work until the issue is resolved therefore salary expectations are nowhere near what I was earning before.
I also had employer pension contributions of double my contribution (I paid £100 per mth, they paid £200 per mth), private medical for myself and my family, 6 mths full sick pay to name the major benefits.
My notice period was 3 months, but because of the situation, my resignation was immediate therefore I lost 3 mths pay at the higher salary, and my jobseekers was sanctioned (although now paid following appeal)
Should I just try to claim for 3 mths notice pay or should I claim for projected loss of earnings and benefits plus injury to feeleings?
I have never had to do any of this before throughout 20 years of working, and am completely at a loss - my financial situation has completely turned on its head and I am concerned that I will not get back to where I was before it all went horribly wrong......
What do you think???

no-oneknowsme

Sorry i cant offer any advice on what you should claim etc but i do just want to say that constructive dismissal is one of the hardest cases to win . Less than 3% of all cases are successful .

Do you have any incriminating evidence etc ? Seeing as you are asking advice on here im guessing you dont have any legal representation ?

Have you spoken to CAB ? They can sometimes offer great advice . I would advise you to contact them .

Jenx

Thanks for your reply. I have lots of evidence of incidents and some witnesses, and I know that I may be fighting a losing battle - but to be honest its more a case of making sure that it doesnt happen to someone else as I am victim no 4 in a long line.
I have to put in a montetary amount on the claim form and although its not all about the money, i have bills to pay and a child to support and every little bit helps, especially now!
I dont have the money to pay a solicitor to do this for me, and am taking the view that I have nothing to lose by putting in my claim and if i can gain some recompense then great - but just stumbling about how much to put in for......

Googlewhacker

have you checked your home insurance doesn't cover you?

no-oneknowsme

Googlewhacker wrote: »

have you checked your home insurance doesn't cover you?

Yip .... there is another thread running at the min where a lady is claiming unfair dismissal . She felt that she couldnt afford legal help and this morning i told her to check her home insurance policy just incase she has legal cover included which she didnt realise.

The good news is that the lady posted back to say that she does indeed have the cover on her policy so as googlewhacker says , its a good idea to check as the cover could prove invaluable to you.

Jenx

thanks - will have a look and give them a call:beer:

lvm

Jenx - how old are you? And why do you believe you were constructively dismissed? Could you add in age discrimination? How old were the other 3 before you?

Depending on your age, you can claim loss of earnings up to your retirement. I personally wouldn't bother with the benefits your ex-employer provided. If age isn't a problem and you're rather young then a tribunal would find it difficult to award more than 3/6 months so you could work out your loss of earnings up to the hearing date.

Do you actually have to provide a figure on the ET1? Do you not have the option to provide later?

Depending on how big your employer is, if you got yourself some legal representation they would probably try and settle out of court to avoid your case being made public.

And not to panic you or anything but you've got less than 2 weeks to put in that claim as you only have 3 months from last date of employment.

no-oneknowsme

lvm wrote: »

And not to panic you or anything but you've got less than 2 weeks to put in that claim as you only have 3 months from last date of employment.

Thats 3 months minus one day . Not trying to be awkward but if the forms are lodged with the tribunal office one day late it could cause problems for the OP.

123benji123

Hi

If you are planning to go to tribunal then it is important that you are aware that you have a max of 3 months to apply. This means your time limit runs out on the 15th of February 2011. These limits are very strict and will not be overridden.

If you don’t mind me pointing out and with all due respect, every thing you said was wrong.

There are companies out there who will take on the case, but under forum rules I cannot tell you, but maybe try goggle and enter public advice – see if anything shows up towards the top and phone them - some are open until 8pm every evening.

If you dont mind my saying, the way you are going, is wrong as constructive is the hardest one to prove. Hurt feelings - forget it ( unless you get them for discrimination)?

You were right about one thing though; solicitors will not take on your case. This is because employees do not pay by the hour unlike employers. Get help with this case, as i beleive this may be a very easy case to win.

In answer to what a Constructive dismissal is; this is a form of dismissal. If you were to resign from your job because of your employer’s behaviour, it may be considered to be constructive dismissal. You would need to show that:

*Your employer has committed a serious breach of contract
*You felt forced to leave because of that breach
*You have not done anything to suggest that you have accepted their breach or a change in employment conditions

Your employer's breach of contract may be one serious incident or the last in a series of less important incidents that are serious when taken together.

If you have already approached your employers and talking to them didn’t help, and you have to quit, you may have a case for unfair or wrongful dismissal following a constructive dismissal. It is often very hard to prove that your employer's behaviour was so bad as to make you leave. If you do have a case for constructive dismissal, and you think we can show it was unfair or wrongful, ideally you should then have left your job immediately. Otherwise the employer can argue that, by staying, you had accepted the conduct or treatment.

With regards to tribunal, compensation is intended to replace lost income, not hurt feelings except in discrimination cases. You have to demonstrate to an Employment Tribunal that you tried to reduce your loss for example by getting another job i.e. you got another job at a lower income and no benefits.

The Tribunal can order your employer to pay compensation if you win. This compensation is unlimited for discrimination or dismissal on health and safety grounds. If I had spoken to you, I would look for the discrimination angel here first, then unfair, and as a last resort constructive.


Well whatever you do, good luck. You could potentially get £100,000 if you pushed discrimination or even up to £25,000 if you were to push something else. Just look around on google and type in public advice and phone the first few.

fabio11

Can I please ask is it 3 months minus one day to lodge appeal at emplyment tribunal or to make a complaint at HR of the emplyer.
I was in similar circumstances and I was told that once I leave company I have 3 months (minus one day) to make a formal complaint to HR of my company and depending on the outcome of that complaint I can make employment tribunal claim anytime later.
Please correct me with dates at HR and employment tribunals?
Thanks

123benji123

Hi Fabio
In most cases, you must make an Employment Tribunal application within 3 months (less one working day) from the date of the discriminatory act. Complaints cannot be lodged on the weekends nor public holidays, so you will need to count back to the nearest working day if your time limit expires on one of these days. This time limit can vary depending on what your claim is about.

My suggesstion is DO NOT DELAY in sending your claim even if you are off work through illness or you are waiting to see if your union or other body will represent you. If your grievance has not been resolved and the time limit is approaching, submit your ET1 to the employment tribunal. You could also send the tribunal a separate letter asking it not to list your case for hearing until you know the outcome of your grievance. Although the tribunal must in certain circumstances reduce your compensation if you file your complaint before the procedure is completed, it is more important to make sure that you file your claim in time.

Employment Tribunals will not usually accept claims received after the relevant time limit. Though in very exceptional circumstances they may agree to extend it. The tribunal may be prepared to extend the time limits if it is just and equitable to do so. They may extend the time limit if, for example, you were too ill to send a claim or were waiting for your employers to take some action. Like I said before, it is still worth making the claim and explaining fully in box 7 of the ET1 form (which asks for additional information) why you delayed, but you should never count on this.

Hope this has helped.