Employment Tribunal Remedy Hearing

Rutty

Please can some one inform me what happens at the above. I took my unfair dismissal claim to court and won. (2 weeks pay + 20% compensatory damages). The judge advised my employer to use ACAS and come up with a reasonable offer (no offer has yet been made) or we would be back in court and the judge would decide.

Is this hearing like the original hearing. Witness statements etc or does the judge just read any additional material supplied by both the claimants and respondent and then make his award.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you.

Takeaway_Addict

Out of interest, if the judge has already said its 2 weeks plus a 20% uplift why would the need to come up with a reasonable offer?

Rutty

I do not know, only the judge knows that

uknick

Good on you Rutty for winning.

I've just been through this.

For the remedy hearing I had to provide a witness statement as to my employment situation and mitigation papers as to why I could not find a comparably paid job after my unfair dismissal. I had to pay for copies to be produced for the tribunal and respondent.

I was advised by my brief I may well be cross examined as to my efforts to find work.

However, my ex employer made an out of court settlement just before the hearing was due to take place.

But, as "addict" asked, I also don't understand why, if the judge has commented on the compensation, you still need to go to remedy.

Hope this helps as to what may be needed if you go to remedy.

Rutty

Thanks for your response. My original hearing took all day. We finished at 5.30. I think the judge just wanted to get away. In his summing up he stated that it could be 3 months or 3 years before i find a comparable job. He advised the respondent to make a reasonable offer and to use ACAS. If no offer is made then we would be back in 7 weeks and he (the judge)would decide. No offer has been made and ACAS have informed me that the respondent has no intention of making an offer. My original statement of loss totalled £5K. (I did this tribunal on my own along with a colleague - no solicitor to help us). However I then did a revised statement of loss (for 3 years) and this now total some £7K! (I have now included travel costs). That is the situation I and my colleague are now in. The remedy hearing is in the very near future!

uknick

Rutty

From what you have said you have been out of work for some time, 3 years. If that is the case, why does your schedule of loss not amount to 3 years wages plus any lost pension rights? I assume this will be considerably more that £7K.

The judge should award the following, if you know this already I apologise for teaching you to suck eggs;

Basic award - equivalent to statutory redundancy pay up to a statutory cap plus;

Compensatory award - to cover you for loss of earnings, but up to a cap relevant at the time your case was submitted plus;

Breach of contract - if you were found to be wrongfully dismissed as well you could be due some payment in lieu of notice. However, this depends on what was in your contract of employment.

From this total he may deduct an amount for contributory fault and Polkey factor.

Rutty

I have found a job (two agency positions at minimum wage) and have been in work for some 8 months now. (But not at the pay or hours that I was on before). The judge at the original hearing said it could be 3 months or 3 years before I found an equivilent paying position. I therefore went for the three years. (I used to work a 40 hour week @ £8 per hour.) I am at present having to travel 48 miles a day and am averaging about 23 hours work a week.

uknick

Do you have a date for your remedy hearing yet?

Rutty

the hearing is 21/10/13

uknick

I'm still puzzled by your claim being only £7k if it includes all the possible loss of earnings. Your schedule of loss indicates you have lost less than about £2.5k per year. Is this the case?

From what you have said you have been in work for 8 months since your dismissal, or did the agency work fill in the gaps?

Have you included the basic award figure? The current figure is £450 per each year you worked at your employer. Going back to 2009 it was still £350 per year. Even if you worked for only 2 years for your previous employer you should still get £700 etc.

Sorry to push on this but I'd hate for you to win all you asked for and then find out you could have got more.

I'm also surprised your ex-employer went to ET if they thought only about £5k was at stake in possible remedy. One would have thought their legal costs alone would make up a sizeable chunk of this. Even if they had won it would be very unlikely for them to have been able to recover their costs from you.

Rutty

Yes I am surprised that he is still fighting. He will have had a solicitor all day at the first hearing and the judge has allocated 2.5 hours for the remedy hearing. (Again his solicitor will be present). I have supplemented my income by agency work. My net loss per week averages £100. @ 20% this is £20 per week x 3 years say £3K. I have also claimed the cost of travel (petrol expenses) to my new place of work which is £7 per day x 3 times per week.