Employment Tribunal quandary

VerticalDroplet

I began an employment tribunal case for unfair dismissal against my former employer in October 2023. Witness statements were exchanged on 20 March 2024 and the evidence bundle agreed a few weeks previously. However, I now see that my case is quite weak and not likely to succeed so I'm seriously thinking of withdrawing my case.

How do I do this while minimising any costs? Do I need the services of a solicitor to minimise the legal costs that my former employer has incurred and may claim against me? Any advice sincerely appreciated.

Marcon

VerticalDroplet said:

I began an employment tribunal case for unfair dismissal against my former employer in October 2023. Witness statements were exchanged on 20 March 2024 and the evidence bundle agreed a few weeks previously. However, I now see that my case is quite weak and not likely to succeed so I'm seriously thinking of withdrawing my case.

How do I do this while minimising any costs? Do I need the services of a solicitor to minimise the legal costs that my former employer has incurred and may claim against me? Any advice sincerely appreciated.

See https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/work/employment-tribunals/employment-tribunals/before-you-go-to-the-tribunal/check-what-it-might-cost-to-make-an-employment-tribunal-claim/

You might want to contact them direct to discuss: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/contact-us/contact-us/contact-us/

tacpot12

If you have home insurance, you might have legal expenses cover, so check to see if you do. If you have this, you can ask the insurers to take a look at your case, and assuming they agree that it is weak, they will advice on how best to get out of it. 

If you have realsied that your case is weak, based on evidence that came out in the budnle, there shouldn't too much of a risk that withdrawing now should pu you at risk due to costs. Just be robust with the employer that you thought you had a good case, but having consdiered all the evidence that is now available, you want to withdraw.

VerticalDroplet

tacpot12 said:

If you have home insurance, you might have legal expenses cover, so check to see if you do. If you have this, you can ask the insurers to take a look at your case, and assuming they agree that it is weak, they will advice on how best to get out of it. 

If you have realsied that your case is weak, based on evidence that came out in the budnle, there shouldn't too much of a risk that withdrawing now should pu you at risk due to costs. Just be robust with the employer that you thought you had a good case, but having consdiered all the evidence that is now available, you want to withdraw.

My ex-employer has probably run up some significant legal expenses which he may well not waive. To settle, if I withdraw my case, he may require me to pay these. In which case, would it be better for me to go to tribunal which is unlikely in most cases to award costs against me if I lose? I have a reasonable case, though somewhat weak, and I have behaved reasonably at all times.

Marcon

VerticalDroplet said:

tacpot12 said:

If you have home insurance, you might have legal expenses cover, so check to see if you do. If you have this, you can ask the insurers to take a look at your case, and assuming they agree that it is weak, they will advice on how best to get out of it. 

If you have realsied that your case is weak, based on evidence that came out in the budnle, there shouldn't too much of a risk that withdrawing now should pu you at risk due to costs. Just be robust with the employer that you thought you had a good case, but having consdiered all the evidence that is now available, you want to withdraw.

My ex-employer has probably run up some significant legal expenses which he may well not waive. To settle, if I withdraw my case, he may require me to pay these. In which case, would it be better for me to go to tribunal which is unlikely in most cases to award costs against me if I lose? I have a reasonable case, though somewhat weak, and I have behaved reasonably at all times.

Impossible to answer that - it would be pure guesswork, given that nobody here can possibly know just how 'obviously weak' your case might be. You say it's a 'reasonable' case, but even you have now recognised it isn't likely to succeed, so your idea of 'reasonable' might not be how a tribunal would see it. 

Grumpy_chap

Has you employer at any time offered a "settlement" just to get the issue closed?
If you think they might offer a settlement, even token, or accept ending the process to stop wasting any more time, the employer might be pleased with that and simply write off any costs to date.

Jude57

VerticalDroplet said:

I began an employment tribunal case for unfair dismissal against my former employer in October 2023. Witness statements were exchanged on 20 March 2024 and the evidence bundle agreed a few weeks previously. However, I now see that my case is quite weak and not likely to succeed so I'm seriously thinking of withdrawing my case.

How do I do this while minimising any costs? Do I need the services of a solicitor to minimise the legal costs that my former employer has incurred and may claim against me? Any advice sincerely appreciated.

Defending employment claims is a cost of doing business so many employers have insurance for just such events. Larger employers may have solicitors on retainer and very large employers will have in-house legal teams. If you withdraw your claim at the earliest opportunity (upon sight of information contained in the Respondent's bundle) it's reasonable for both sides to meet their own costs to date. Your employer would need the Court's permission to pursue you for their costs to date which, given the difference in resources between all but the smallest employer and employee, is unlikely (not impossible) to be granted, unless you fall into the legal category of 'vexatious litigant' and I don't imagine you do.

Marcon

Jude57 said:

VerticalDroplet said:

I began an employment tribunal case for unfair dismissal against my former employer in October 2023. Witness statements were exchanged on 20 March 2024 and the evidence bundle agreed a few weeks previously. However, I now see that my case is quite weak and not likely to succeed so I'm seriously thinking of withdrawing my case.

How do I do this while minimising any costs? Do I need the services of a solicitor to minimise the legal costs that my former employer has incurred and may claim against me? Any advice sincerely appreciated.

Defending employment claims is a cost of doing business so many employers have insurance for just such events. Larger employers may have solicitors on retainer and very large employers will have in-house legal teams. If you withdraw your claim at the earliest opportunity (upon sight of information contained in the Respondent's bundle) it's reasonable for both sides to meet their own costs to date. Your employer would need the Court's permission to pursue you for their costs to date which, given the difference in resources between all but the smallest employer and employee, is unlikely (not impossible) to be granted, unless you fall into the legal category of 'vexatious litigant' and I don't imagine you do.

But there's absolutely no way to asses if that's the case, given there is no information on which to make such a judgement.

Jude57

Marcon said:

Jude57 said:

VerticalDroplet said:

I began an employment tribunal case for unfair dismissal against my former employer in October 2023. Witness statements were exchanged on 20 March 2024 and the evidence bundle agreed a few weeks previously. However, I now see that my case is quite weak and not likely to succeed so I'm seriously thinking of withdrawing my case.

How do I do this while minimising any costs? Do I need the services of a solicitor to minimise the legal costs that my former employer has incurred and may claim against me? Any advice sincerely appreciated.

Defending employment claims is a cost of doing business so many employers have insurance for just such events. Larger employers may have solicitors on retainer and very large employers will have in-house legal teams. If you withdraw your claim at the earliest opportunity (upon sight of information contained in the Respondent's bundle) it's reasonable for both sides to meet their own costs to date. Your employer would need the Court's permission to pursue you for their costs to date which, given the difference in resources between all but the smallest employer and employee, is unlikely (not impossible) to be granted, unless you fall into the legal category of 'vexatious litigant' and I don't imagine you do.

But there's absolutely no way to asses if that's the case, given there is no information on which to make such a judgement.

Actually, there is. Vexatious Litigant is, as I said, a very specific designation in the legal system and while the term is often bandied around it is in fact easily assessed and indeed can be officially confirmed because there's a list.  That's because, in order to be properly called a Vexatious Litigant, the individual (or organisation though that's much rarer) has to be named such by a Court. I doubt that's happened to the OP because his/her Tribunal hearing hasn't occurred yet, even if he/she may have been adjudged a Vexatious Litigant in prior proceedings but again, given the tone of their posts, they seem unfamiliar with the Court's processes, leading me to believe they are, in fact, novices, which is why I wrote the final words of my previous post.

For anyone interested and to avoid further thread drift, here's more on Vexatious Litigants:

https://lawsblog.london.ac.uk/2020/05/19/when-the-litigant-cant-take-no-for-an-answer-vexatious-litigants-in-civil-procedure/

And the current list:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vexatious-litigants

JReacher1

Tends to be quite rare for costs to be awarded if you lose an employment tribunal. You may be better off continuing the case but do it in a polite, respectful manner and even if you lose you may get away with not being charged costs.