Employment Tribunal Help

dj9911

Hi all,

I'm having trouble with the respondents lawyers. They are sending documents to the court and they aren't copying me in when they should be. Obviously it's information I need for my case and the delays are making it harder for me.

I have made a complaint to the court and cc'd them in. I then got a direct response from the lawyer saying they would forward the documents straight away. They still haven't done it.

My concern is with the work load of the tribunal courts it takes around 4 weeks to get a response. Is there anything else I can do to make the lawyers send the documents or to get a quicker response from the court?

Thanks.

sangie595

If you have asked the tribunal, then other than asking again.... Nothing can force a tribunal to do anything except a higher court, and that's not going to happen. The lawyers job is to make it harder for you. Only the tribunal can manage that.

Comms69

I think you should keep a record of requests and the lack of action.

Courts, whether tribunals or otherwise, take a dim view ( especially when professionals are involved ) of such practice.

dj9911

Ok. Thank you.

dj9911

I’m still having problems with the respondents lawyers.

They have sent some paperwork but it’s basically useless. The documents refer to other documentation. The other documentation is where the details is. The detail is what is key to my case. As an example, they send a certificate of insurance. Yes you have insurance. But as with all insurance it is unwritten. They will be insured under certain conditions. It’s that detail which I need. I ask for the policy details. They then write back saying there is no other relevant documentation. This is obviously rubbish. You must have policy details.

It is close to the point where we have to agree on what to include in the tribunal bundle and I’m being asked to confirm the documents. Can I refuse to confirm the tribunal bundle? What can I do about their refusal to supply documentation which must exist? Can I ask for the letters/emails between us both to be included in the bundle which will clearly show their refusal to supply documents?

steampowered

Ask, in writing, for the missing documents to be disclosed and included in the bundle.

If the respondent's lawyers fail to include relevant documents in the bundle and the documents are material to your case, you can bring that to the attention of the tribunal at the start of the hearing - and invite them to draw negative inferences.

However, in all Tribunal situations, it is crucial to focus on what really matters to your case. Work out what you would need to prove to the Tribunal to win your claim - and focus on proving that. Don't get drawn into rabbit holes. I don't understand how the T&Cs of a workplace insurance policy could be relevant to an ET claim.

It is possible to ask for correspondence between you and the respondent's lawyers to be included in the bundle. However, I would avoid this in most circumstances. The Tribunal is unlikely to be interested in tit-for-tat between the parties.

Genuineguy03

You can apply to the tribunal for an order for specfic disclosure, where you list the documents, you want from the employer. You may have to explain why/how the documents are relevant to your case. If your granted the order and the other side fails to produce still. The tribunal could dismiss the employers defence. Meaning you'd win be default.

sangie595

steampowered wrote: »

Ask, in writing, for the missing documents to be disclosed and included in the bundle.

If the respondent's lawyers fail to include relevant documents in the bundle and the documents are material to your case, you can bring that to the attention of the tribunal at the start of the hearing - and invite them to draw negative inferences.

However, in all Tribunal situations, it is crucial to focus on what really matters to your case. Work out what you would need to prove to the Tribunal to win your claim - and focus on proving that. Don't get drawn into rabbit holes. I don't understand how the T&Cs of a workplace insurance policy could be relevant to an ET claim.

It is possible to ask for correspondence between you and the respondent's lawyers to be included in the bundle. However, I would avoid this in most circumstances. The Tribunal is unlikely to be interested in tit-for-tat between the parties.

I would agree. Be clear what actually matters to your case, because you do not want to try the tribunals patience. The details of an insurance policy would not seem to be something you would need to know to detail a case in a tribunal.

dj9911

Thank you for your replies.


Hopefully this very simple analogy will explain why I think the documents are important.



A court case depends upon whether a 23 year old man (claimant) was insured to drive a company vehicle. The company (respondent) supplies an insurance certificate. The claimant requests the details of the insurance. The respondent says there is no other relevant documentation to the case. Obviously this is complete rubbish. All insurance is under written and the devil is in the detail. The case goes to court. The judge rules upon the facts in front of him and sides with the respondent. But had the claimant had access to the policy detail he would have learnt that the companies insurance only covers people over 25 years of age. Had the court known that fact the out come of the case would have obviously been different.

steampowered

You need to give actual details of what the claim is for if you want sensible input.

I really struggle to see how an Employment Tribunal claim (e.g. unfair dismissal, discrimination) could turn on the terms of the company's insurance policy.

dj9911

The case was accepted on health and safety grounds. I was sacked for refusing to work in an unsafe way. Part of that was asking for written proof that I was insured to do something because I had good reason to believe I wasn't. There had been a near fatal accident which heightened my concerns. The company basically has no health and safety policy. Rightly or wrongly I think it is important to the case to prove that I wasn't insured and there is no health and safety policy in place.

I've been given two pieces of paper clearly just copied off the internet with no relation to the company. Those documents have no substance and refer to other documentation which is where the detail of their alleged health and policy actually is. Risk assessments, training records etc. I know these probably don't exist. I want to be able to prove to the court at the tribunal that I have requested them and if no documents are supplied it is because they don’t exist. As the situation is at the minute I’m afraid I won’t be able to prove that at the tribunal.

They have also given me a copy of their insurance certificate but it is meaningless without the policy details. Which they are refusing to give to me. We all know insurance is subject to conditions. They must have a copy or access to a copy. I’m confident that the policy detail would prove that I wasn’t insured.

My plan is a witness to prove the meeting where I was sacked was about health and safety (they are obviously denying it was the reason). Then secondly that I wasn't insured and that their health and safety policy is basically non existent. So I was right to raise my concerns and as such I was unfairly sacked.