Employment tribunal - Preliminary hearing

[Pollyy]

Hi looking for some advice,

I Have filed an employment tribunal which has been accepted. There is a preliminary hearing in a few months that I have to attend. I am just wondering if anyone knows weather this is a positive sign for my case as I have heard preliminary hearings aren't usually necessary.

i have been offered COT3 agreement which I have declined as it was very unreasonable.

thank you in advance.

☺️

[ULA]

Usually there will be a preliminary hearing in discrimination, whistleblowing and complex unfair dismissal claims. Also, if you or the Respondent doesn’t have a solicitor then it is more likely that there will be a preliminary hearing.

A preliminary hearing allows a Judge to begin to give the case some structure and to familiarise themselves with what the case is all about; its value (i.e. how much money you are asking for in compensation or settlement), and the complexity of the issues involved. The Judge also has the power to dismiss (“strike out”) parts of the claim and to limit what claims are heard at the full hearing.

Both you and the Respondent will have to agree the steps that will need to be taken to take the case to a final hearing. That means you will need to provide information about how many witnesses you might want to call to give evidence at the final hearing, as well as how and when you will send each other documents and witness statements that will form part of the final hearing ‘bundle’. The Judge will also want to agree how long, and on what date, the hearing will take place. All that information will form part of an agreed timetable between you, the Respondent and the Judge that you must stick to as closely as possible.

It is also an opportunity to tell the Judge and the other side about any changes you want to make to the claim which you submitted. You should remember that the Judge hearing the preliminary hearing is not the Judge who will hear the final hearing and that can sometimes be quite helpful, especially if you don’t have solicitors representing you. So, it is important to be as prepared as you can and to help with this, in most circumstances, the Tribunal will send to you and the Respondent an Agenda for you each to complete prior to the preliminary hearing. This is in effect a questionnaire designed to ensure that the Judge knows what the issues are going to be.

Although it is called a hearing, you should be aware that it may take place by telephone instead of face-to-face, which means that you dial into a call with the other side and the Judge, in which case you need not worry about attending the court at this stage.