Employment Tribunal representation

FathersSon

Afternoon all,


1st post on here. Strange situation here.


Top and bottom of it is;


My brother was laid off early last year and filed for constructive unfair dismissal.


He was laid of due to being off work sick suffering from mental illness due to tiredness caused by his job (as a HGV driver) but communications broke down quickly between himself and his employer.


Now we are here after a lot of hard work put in by my late father, who put together all documentation and gathered all evidence, which have all been sent of to the ET dept. Now we are being asked about representation, so that a date can be scheduled... this is where the issue lies. My brother cannot afford a solicitor and isn't well enough to represent himself. I have gone down the No win no fee road but with no joy being as the total amount requested in compensation isn't worth a solicitor getting involved.


Would you suggest using CAB, or just me biting the bullet and representing him myself?


Thanks for your time on this and as I'm sure you can appreciate this is all very alien to me, having only been brought into the matter so close to the hearing.


Thanks

Southend1

If the amount of compensation sought is low, is it worth your brother putting himself through the ordeal of tribunal?

As an aside, for anyone else reading your post who is not a member of a trade union, this is a good example of why you should join one right away - you never know when you might need advice or representation on a work related problem.

jobbingmusician

Bite the bullet. It is fairly unlikely that the CAB would be able to represent you, although you can try and should get as much info from them as you can. I represented myself and won. However, you do need to be aware that the success rate for constructive dismissal is very low. Are you sure it is actually constructive dismissal? You may also like to consider any ways in which your brother's employer breached their own disciplinary procedure, or failed to make reasonable adjustments for someone with a mental illness.

Tahlullah

Not clear how he can have been laid off, and then claim constructive unfair dismissal. Laid off means he was dismissed. Constructive dismissal means he walked before they could dismiss. Which one is it? This is important because if you are really saying he claimed constructive unfair dismissal on the ET1, when he was laid off first, then he will not win.

The tribunal can only consider what was claimed on the form. If they find there is no constructive dismissal case, they cannot then look to see if he was unfairly dismissed or wrongfully dismissed unless it was claimed on the ET1. Check this before going any further, it is not the tribunals job to give employment advice, they can only decide on the claims presented.

It may be worth approaching your local CAB because they may be one of the rare ones that still have an employment specialist. If not, they may have details of solicitors who do tribunal work pro bono. Or they may have details of a Free Representation Unit. If you have a local Law Centre, they usually have employment specialists as well.

If he goes alone, the tribunal will be 'gentle' on him, but they won't stop the employers pulling him apart. The whole process is adviarial. And employers are allowed to defend themselves, so they can bring solicitors and barristers and he cannot complain.

Good luck!

GlasweJen

Definitely check that he's claiming for the right thing.

In terms of representation you can definitely do it yourself. The tribunal don't talk legal speech and someone will "translate" if the other sides lawyer does.

Our tribunal offered me mediation and that worked well as the other side spent most of the time in another room. Is mediation an option?

bugslet

FathersSon wrote: »

He was laid of due to being off work sick suffering from mental illness due to tiredness caused by his job (as a HGV driver) road but with no joy being as the total amount requested in compensation isn't worth a solicitor getting involved.

Sorry I can't answer your main question, but if you don't mind me asking, is there a suggestion that the company were running over hours or exceeding the RTD laws?

I have to concur with the other poster, if it's only a small amount, is it worth the mental stress to your brother?

FathersSon

Its complicated, being as he actually had to hand his notice in, because according to HMRC he was still under the employ of his boss... however he wasn't receiving any sick pay etc and was still sending in sick notes etc.


Communication had totally broken down in one direction from his boss. My brother sent many letters etc with no response.


2 months after my brother handed his resignation in due to no sick pay and other issues (basically he couldn't claim jobseekers allowance or any other benefits due to still showing as being employed) a letter dropped through the door advising that he had been laid off well before the resignation letter was handed in... this had never been communicated to my brother.


Its all very very complicated, especially for me coming in at this late stage.


I appreciate all of the responses so far and thank you all for your time. I will investigate the possibility of a mediation

FathersSon

bugslet wrote: »

Sorry I can't answer your main question, but if you don't mind me asking, is there a suggestion that the company were running over hours or exceeding the RTD laws?

I have to concur with the other poster, if it's only a small amount, is it worth the mental stress to your brother?

Its something that would need further investigation, but thanks for giving me further ideas.


I understand what you are saying but this has now become a matter of principal for my brother and now myself.


Thanks for the comment though

bugslet

FathersSon wrote: »

Its something that would need further investigation, but thanks for giving me further ideas.


I understand what you are saying but this has now become a matter of principal for my brother and now myself.


Thanks for the comment though

Just be aware that can cut both ways. The opposite view if they were running legal, is that the job is what it is, long hours and if drivers hours and RTD were being adhered to, unless the firm had prior knowledge of ill health, they have done nothing wrong.

It' always worth working out what the other side will think.

You should get them on no sick pay though, that's pretty straightforward. Don't be surprised if they produce a copy letter of the one they allegedly sent advising him that they were terminating his employment.

Good luck.

micky2phones

FathersSon wrote: »

Afternoon all,


1st post on here. Strange situation here.


Top and bottom of it is;


My brother was laid off early last year and filed for constructive unfair dismissal.


He was laid of due to being off work sick suffering from mental illness due to tiredness caused by his job (as a HGV driver) but communications broke down quickly between himself and his employer.


Now we are here after a lot of hard work put in by my late father, who put together all documentation and gathered all evidence, which have all been sent of to the ET dept. Now we are being asked about representation, so that a date can be scheduled... this is where the issue lies. My brother cannot afford a solicitor and isn't well enough to represent himself. I have gone down the No win no fee road but with no joy being as the total amount requested in compensation isn't worth a solicitor getting involved.


Would you suggest using CAB, or just me biting the bullet and representing him myself?


Thanks for your time on this and as I'm sure you can appreciate this is all very alien to me, having only been brought into the matter so close to the hearing.


Thanks

Hi have you spoke to ACAS. They helped me

Layzee

1st off you cannot lodge a claim with the ET unless you speak to ACAS, they will then give you a code that you need in order to submit a claim to ET.


If this claim is a "Breach of Contract" be aware that the max award an ET can hand out is 25k.


If your claim is in excess of 25k you need to take it to a civil court.


CAB do a great deal of good work, however if you go down this route make sure your CAB advisor knows what he/she is doing.