Tribunal Strike Out

JulianSmith

I have received a copy of a request from the respondent (my previous employer) to the Tribunal applying to have (part of) my unfair dismissal claim struck out.  There was no instructions from the tribunal about whether I should respond or dates when I should do this by, I assumed I should wait for the judge to contact me to give me the opportunity to give reasons why I believe it shouldn't be struck out but I'm now panicking that maybe I have missed a deadline or I should have taken some action, this was a month ago. Help please. Is it permissible for me to call the Tribunal office?

JulianSmith

I should add that this strike out application was received as part of the ET3 document. I am claiming against two respondents, one of which the respondent has written grounds of resistance for, but for the other respondent they are requesting the strike out.

thebrexitunicorn

You don’t have to do anything unless the tribunal asks or tells you to.  You can call the tribunal but they are extremely busy at the moment and it may be difficult to get through to someone.  

The tribunal may set a date for a preliminary hearing to determine the strikeout question.  From your post it sounds as if this is a question of determining who the correct respondent is. 

JulianSmith

Thanks very much for the advice. Yes thats the issue. If the judge decides to strike out one of the respondents and continue with the case against the other, is there any way I can be ordered to pay legal costs for the one being struck out? They're two parts of the same company. Is the preliminary hearing always set for this type of decision or could the judge just decide to strike out or not on the basis of the ET1 and ET3? Thanks, J. 

thebrexitunicorn

It’s quite a common situation for two or more entities to be named when it’s a related company and the claimant isn’t clear on which entity is the employer. I don’t think there would be a separate preliminary hearing for just that question. 

At tribunal costs can only be awarded in limited circumstances.  As I said it’s a common situation and not a reason for any costs award against you.  

JulianSmith

Many thanks @thebrexitunicorn, really appreciate the advice.