Employment Tribunal - Help and Advice

LittleButton · 8 August 2018 at 11:10AM

Hi All - New member here in need of a bit of advice?

I have decided to take my ex employer to ET. I have submitted my ET1 and my claim was accepted by the Tribunal.
My question is - The letter states the respondent has 28 days to come back with thier response to my claim and that I will be copied into this.
It has now been 35 days and I have not received anything as of yet. How can I find out if they have indeed responded/applied for an extension etc? I tried the ACAS conciliator who seems to be eternally on Annual Leave ... I tried calling the Tribunal Office where my claim will be heard but the phone just rings out constantly.

Any advice would be very welcome

sangie595 · 8 August 2018 at 11:36AM

Write to the tribunal office - email?

What is "eternally on holiday"? ACAS provide cover arrangements if someone is unavailable long term, so ask to speak to whoever is doing that.

The 28 days is more often honored in the breach than the compliance! Employers are often late in responding, and that rarely means anything as the tribunal would usually simply them more time.

It is the summer - there will be a lot of people on holiday, your former employers, ACAS, and in the Tribunal Office. Things are often slow, but at this time of year you can expect even more delays.

LittleButton · 8 August 2018 at 11:57AM

This has been going on since February - It has taken my employer all this time to hear an appeal. I was in concilliaion for the max time including an extended deadline. My conciliator was only available for one week out of the whole Early Conciliation process.
That is what i mean by !!!8220;Eternally on Holiday!!!8221; - every time I need them, they are not there. There is no cover on the out of office as you have mentioned. Only an urgent query team. This isn!!!8217;t urgent yet, was just looking for advice on what to do next.
Never been in this situation and thought a forum was for a bit of advice?

LittleButton · 8 August 2018 at 12:03PM

I dont know why the punctuation caused thise issues just then :rotfl:

sangie595 · 8 August 2018 at 12:14PM

It's an iPhone thing- causing problems for ages and MSE don't seem to be able to fix it.

Nobody is on holiday since February! I'd have to say that if you really haven't had a response since then it is urgent! Something has gone wrong! Given the case loads, I'd expect slowness in responses, but not none.

LittleButton · 8 August 2018 at 12:26PM

Sorry - I probably didnt explain myself fully.

I left my employer in Feb, and raised an appeal off the back of my Grievance outcome. The appeal was ignored.
I commenced with Early Conciliation where I finally (after many emails and voicemails left) made contact with the Conciliator after 3.5 weeks. They then requested an extension which my ex employer agreed to. Conciliator then went on annual leave again, and on the final day when My Conciliation was due to end, they came back from holiday. My ex employer said as there was still an appeal outstanding they want to hear that before entering into conciliation with me.
That was in June.
I then submitted my ET1 and have the same conciliator again. Tried calling today to discuss and found out they are on holiday for the next 3 weeks!

My ex employer have now heard my appeal after 5 months of waiting for them. I suspect they did so because they received my Tribunal notification.

To say i am stressed right now is an understatement, and I know it is only going to get worse at ET time.

ohreally · 8 August 2018 at 1:12PM

LittleButton wrote: »

I dont know why the punctuation caused thise issues just then :rotfl:

In keyboard settings, turn smart punctuation off.

sangie595 · 8 August 2018 at 1:18PM

OK, I'm trying!...

LittleButton wrote: »

Sorry - I probably didnt explain myself fully.

I left my employer in Feb, and raised an appeal off the back of my Grievance outcome. The appeal was ignored. Did you resign or were you dismissed? Was the grievance submitted whilst in employment? The appeal after you left?

I commenced with Early Conciliation where I finally (after many emails and voicemails left) made contact with the Conciliator after 3.5 weeks. I appreciate this is frustrating for you, but this system was designed to support tribunals which had fees. Since they became free again, the conciliation office is literally swamped with claims and have not enough staff to deal with it. Unlike the call centre, which is notoriously poor at times, the conciliation staff did have to have a modicum of training and skills at this, and they are in short supply. It doesn't help you at all, but perhaps explains it.

They then requested an extension which my ex employer agreed to. Conciliator then went on annual leave again, and on the final day when My Conciliation was due to end, they came back from holiday. My ex employer said as there was still an appeal outstanding they want to hear that before entering into conciliation with me. Are you saying that they were on annual leave back then for 3.5 weeks, then went on annual leave again, and are now on leave for three weeks again? Not that it is relevant, but nobody gets that much leave!
That was in June.
I then submitted my ET1 and have the same conciliator again. Tried calling today to discuss and found out they are on holiday for the next 3 weeks! This is the real issue. As I said, if you have heard nothing then you need to treat it as an emergency and ring them again. Things do not and cannot stop for three weeks simply because someone is off work, no matter why. Other people will be pushing for answers too - you won't be the only one. But you will need to push.

My ex employer have now heard my appeal after 5 months of waiting for them. I suspect they did so because they received my Tribunal notification.

To say i am stressed right now is an understatement, and I know it is only going to get worse at ET time.

Oh yes it will! At least you know that!

To be honest, and this is totally a guess - albeit based on experience - but I'd bet that the tribunal office haven't even noticed that the ET3 hasn't yet come in. It's "only" a week late, and at this time of year, in a service already stretched to breaking point, during peak holiday season when tribunals themselves aren't sitting...???? However, as I said, late submissions are exceptionally common and it is very seldom that that results in anything more than an extension to the date. The claim may have gone missing, the response may have gone missing, all sorts of things can happen. I cannot recall a single instance where the deadline had actually been the deadline!

Pj1981 · 5 September 2018 at 10:54PM

My ex employer managed to postpone hearing the day before citing reasons that have now become obvious were made up. It has taken months to get a new date arranged, which is 2 weeks after the company closes.most of the witnesses they have dont work there anymore, and will most certainly not attend.i have a strong case and evidence of witness collusion, and statements that contradict one another.i do not know where i stand with this now, and cannot get the info i need regarding this.the new owners wont be liable for this, and so it looks like i have no chance. What happens if they fail to show? Will the company still be liable? Can i block the company from closing? Has the past 19 months been a waste of time and stress? I would appreciate any advice on this, and will say to the author of this thread to expect a lengthly process and plenty of stress .but dont give up.if you are not planning on using a solicitor, use your time to learn how it all works , and the law relevant to your case as this will help reduce stress/worry in the long run .i have one, but have decided to represent myself at the hearing as the solicitor will only be assisting me up until the hearing .and the barristers arent cheap, nearly 1000 pound for a day, and i was looking forward to cross examining the witnesses as the statements they gave are laughable.good luck anyway and hopefully they will settle before your hearing.

LittleButton · 4 October 2018 at 9:29PM

Update on this and some advice would be nice of anyone would be so kind?
Recieved the response which was over 2 weeks after the deadline. This was accepted.
Have been to Prelim Case Management hearing and the judge already set the agenda prior to this hearing. Judge made a few tweaks to the time frames and we have a 6 day hearing set for middle of next year.

R has spoken with ACAS today and has asked them to come to me so I can counter offer something more reasonable than is on my schedule of loss. I have claimed middle band in injury to feelings after a lengthy campaign of harassment due to whistle blowing, and a maternity discrimination claim. I cannot post specifics as I fear they will identify me if R were to go looking, so i am not looking for validation on £ value of my claim/settlement.

Question is - What would you counter with to settle? 75% of claim? 50% of claim? I am still prepared to go to hearing because I can prove i was discriminated against with my evidence and witnesses.

LittleButton · 4 October 2018 at 9:33PM

Sangie 595

I resigned due to thier unreasonable behaviour, raised the grievance whilst I was employed and it was heard before I had left. They finally heard my appeal 5 months later and have lost/destroyed crucial evidence I have asked for.
I dont know how my conciliator gets so much leave - but she is off again this week and the Duty cover team are looking at it.

Employment Tribunal - Help and Advice

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