Emploment tribunal and dirty tricks!

Nellie100 · 26 November 2017 at 10:53PM

Hi guys, i'm taking a big professional body to an employment tribunal for discrimination. The basics are they punished me just for being off sick.
Anyway they put their response on my ET3 and it said things that were not at all relevant with the only purpose of making me look bad. They quoted me as saying things I had never said! they put things out of context. Then...can you believe... they stated that their own policy (which I said they hadn't followed) was untrue, but didn't explain how or why.

I do have evidence of everything including the laws/legislations/policies and their own guidelines they have broken. I think they are so huge and they have got so many people involved they do not actually have a clue about my case, which is an advantage.
They say they want my claim struck out and for me to pay the costs.

They also have a 'senior law advisor' who is also a solicitor, as well as a barrister! is that allowed? how many people do I have to deal with?

I think my case should be strong, its just how I present myself on the day, and making sure I stay calm and level headed and don't break down

any advice with that?:cool:

dippy3103 · 26 November 2017 at 11:34PM

I found this website today which had some useful advice on it

http://derbyshirelawcentre.org.uk/lip-service/

xapprenticex · 26 November 2017 at 11:35PM

You're taking a big bloody risk representing yourself. Its you verses professionals who know everything inside out.

But just so you know, you can lose your job for JUST taking days off sick.

jobbingmusician · 27 November 2017 at 12:08AM

dippy3103 wrote: »

I found this website today which had some useful advice on it

http://derbyshirelawcentre.org.uk/lip-service/

Pure gold! Thank you, dippy. I'll try to store this somewhere useful for others to refer to.

dippy3103 · 27 November 2017 at 1:01AM

jobbingmusician wrote: »

Pure gold! Thank you, dippy. I'll try to store this somewhere useful for others to refer to.

It’s brilliant isn’t it? So easy to follow and lots of great info

TELLIT01 · 27 November 2017 at 9:21AM

Nellie100 wrote: »

They also have a 'senior law advisor' who is also a solicitor, as well as a barrister! is that allowed? how many people do I have to deal with?

Of course it's allowed. They can have as much legal muscle behind their case as they wish. It isn't a game, where somebody is ensuring that both sides are approximately equal. As has already been said, you could be taking a huge risk representing yourself against a setup like that. As has also been said, you can be sacked for what the company considers excessive sickness absence.

steampowered · 27 November 2017 at 10:38AM

Nellie100 wrote: »

I think my case should be strong, its just how I present myself on the day, and making sure I stay calm and level headed and don't break down any advice with that?:cool:

Don't take the ET3 personally. It is not unusual for employers to say aggressive things in their ET3.

When you get to the hearing, the most important thing is whether or not you have a legally valid case.

That is ultimately what the tribunal has to decide.

You need to be able to explain very precisely what specific law you feel the employer has been breached. Ideally you should be able to point to the specific part of the legislation you are referring to.

IAmWales · 27 November 2017 at 12:23PM

jobbingmusician wrote: »

Pure gold! Thank you, dippy. I'll try to store this somewhere useful for others to refer to.

Could we have a sticky thread with useful links like this please? The current stickies could do with a cull, or disappearing altogether.

The Derbyshire service is also open to people in Nottinghamshire. We could find links for those in other areas too?

Nellie100 · 29 November 2017 at 9:20PM

Sorry had problems logging in.
I cannot be sacked for being off sick, because I have been working for the last year and a half. I work part time and I am not paying for representation because I am not doing this for compensation or myself, I am doing it to change how they treat people.
But I'm aware I'm taking a risk and its a cause that's worth fighting for and would make a difference to a lot of people and I know I have the best case to win.

Yes I have legislations, laws and policies they have broken and all evidence of how.
They have just put completely irrelevant issues in the ET3 with the only purpose of trying to make me look bad. Either the judge will think I'm insane, or he'll see through their tricks and itl make them look stupid. hmm fingers crossed.

Haven't found much help. Citizens advice were rubbish. they offered me a free half hour with a local solicitor- I rang them and they said they didn't do employment law. went back to C advice and they said there was nothing else they could do to help me as it was too complicated. I kind of just want a bit of emotional support. The main thing is going to be whether I can keep a cool head and not freak out on the day.

I

jobbingmusician · 29 November 2017 at 9:25PM

Nellie, if you search this forum, you will find a very old thread which I started about ETs. Some of it is out of date, but some of the practical advice about your statement and a chronological record of when things happened might be quite useful.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=1462615&highlight=tribunal

IAmWales · 29 November 2017 at 9:40PM

Nellie100 wrote: »

Sorry had problems logging in.
I cannot be sacked for being off sick, because I have been working for the last year and a half. I work part time and I am not paying for representation because I am not doing this for compensation or myself, I am doing it to change how they treat people.
But I'm aware I'm taking a risk and its a cause that's worth fighting for and would make a difference to a lot of people and I know I have the best case to win.

Yes I have legislations, laws and policies they have broken and all evidence of how.
They have just put completely irrelevant issues in the ET3 with the only purpose of trying to make me look bad. Either the judge will think I'm insane, or he'll see through their tricks and itl make them look stupid. hmm fingers crossed.

Haven't found much help. Citizens advice were rubbish. they offered me a free half hour with a local solicitor- I rang them and they said they didn't do employment law. went back to C advice and they said there was nothing else they could do to help me as it was too complicated. I kind of just want a bit of emotional support. The main thing is going to be whether I can keep a cool head and not freak out on the day.

I

You are taking this too personally.

You can be dismissed for being off sick, irrespective of length of service. Are you disabled and was the sickness disability related, how much time did you have off? If you are not disabled then you have no protections in this respect as you have worked there less than two years. Even if you are disabled you can still be dismissed if they can show they have considered reasonable adjustments.

Even if you are successful that does not mean they will change the way they do things. It's not going to make a difference to anybody else. All it means is that their insurance premiums will go up a bit, tribunal claims rarely change workplace practices.

Emploment tribunal and dirty tricks!

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