Statement of truth in defence/application

[ecalid]

Hi Ula

So the court has responded and they have granted the respondents wish to extend the date of swapping untill late September.

However I have already sent my witness statement, does this now mean that I cannot change it??.

As the respondent wanted to extend the deadline to accommodate my extra documents.

Thanks in advancr!

[ULA]

If there is anything material, although I am not sure what it would be at this stage, that changes the witness statement you have already presented then since the date for exchange has been extended then you may be able to provide an updated version. However you would need to make it very clear that any new statement is the version that will be used by you at the Hearing.

[ecalid]

Hi Ula

As I have read the Facebook conversations. I have noticed that the starting period for my role within the respondents business had commenced some 2 weeks earlier than in the respondents defence.

However, in my particulars of claim, I have stated that the date is the same as the respondents as I had based it on their dates and assumed that they would be correct.

The new evidence in the Facebook messages contradicts this and I am a bit concerned that I may now have to apply to the court to amend my particulars of claim and the date of my commencement in order to use it in my witness statement.

It is worth noting at this point that if the dates were brought forward by 2 weeks, then this would have a detrimental affect on the respondents defence as the timeline in which they rely, can now be proven to be factually incorrect.

The general basis of my claim is that a trial period for a promotion was set up by the respondent but the terms were never communicated to me. After an argument regarding contracts and pay, I was dismissed by the respondent on the day that I should have had my probation concluded.

I was re-engaged 3 later and I was presented with a contract that said that I agreed to a trial more than 3 months ago. I did not sign this contract and emailed HR asking for clarification of this clause.

Suddenly 15 days I was summoned to a meeting and dismissed from the role.

I could at this point just basically argue that I did not know the date of commencement at the time of writing my particulars of claim and relied on the respondents view of the timeline. After disclosing the full facebook conversation, can now identify that both of us are wrong and should give testament to the absolute ambiguity of the trial period.

What are your thoughts on this???

Thanks in advance.

[efpom]

Witness statements aka evidence in chief. You are popped into the witness box on the day and are given the opportunity before you are sworn, to correct your WS

[ecalid]

Ula sorry do you have any thoughts on this?

[ULA]

The date of the commencement of the role has been given as the same date by you in the ET1 and the respondent. I am unclear from your post as to whether there is actually any formal written confirmation of this - I think not but clarification of whether i am correct would be useful. So if there is no written confirmation of the date of start of the role but you have at least both believed it to be on the same day.

What has come to light is information on Facebook, that may indicate the role started earlier than you both thought? How reliable is the information given on Facebook do you feel?

I would not necessarily worry too much about trying to change the ET1 information which contradicts both your timelines, however this may, if deemed relevant be something that forms a point of questioning at the hearing.

[ecalid]

Hi Ula my wage slips from the respondent prove that the date of commencement happened at least 2 weeks earlier than the respondent had put into a variation of contract and the date of commencement of a trial period that i ostensibly failed.

I refused to sign the contract as i knew something was fishy and asked the respondent to clarify the terms of this contract. Which they did not.

The facebook messages are relevant because i was engaged bilaterally with another colleague on this "trial" which in the facebook messages he asked me how my first day went.. which was 2 weeks prior to the date both myself and the respondent have put.

Obviously not having any correspondence from the respondent in regards to the trial period I have had to rely on their timeline, which I can now prove is flawed.

To put it briefly I recieved no correspondence from the respondent in regards to the commencement of a trial period. I arranged a meeting on 05.10.18 to address this issue and gather evidence regarding an alleged trial period as I did not know the start date or the length of the period in question.

In this meeting, HR had made it clear to my boss that it was their intention to provide an amended contract which would include all additional roles before my boss had intervened and set up an alleged trial instead. Shortly after, i was summarily dismissed by my from this additional role as I had expressed that he was bullying me.

Its worth noting that I recorded this meeting in the public interest as I was sharing this role with somebody else.

I said that I would be leaving on constructive dismissal and i left the premises. A few days later, the respondent contacted me and arranged a meeting. They said they would provide me with the contract that I was asking for and I would be reinstated into this role.

On or around 15.10.19 they gave me an amended contract accompanied with a job description.

In this contract there was a clause that said I had engaged in a trial on 16.07.19.

Also the start date of my employment was brought forward by 4 months for reasons unknown. I was now employed for over 4 years which had affected my notice period.

I gave one and a half weeks notice when I was contractually obliged to give 1 month as the respondent had engaged the new contract without my consent.

The respondent has also pleaded in their defence that I was contractually obliged to give one weeks notice so it is my interpretation that they have effectively rescinded the new contract.

Also a probationary clause had been removed along with a clause that indicated the possible extension of a probationary period.

I was asked to sign both and return them to the respondent.

I did not. I emailed the respondent and asked that they clarify the terms of the alleged trial period as the contract was presented as the trial had expired. I kept both which have now formed part of my disclosed documents.

I was then asked to come to a meeting which ended in me failing a trial period for an additional role that had allegedly commenced on the 16.07.18. My wage slips prove I was employed in this role for at least 2 weeks prior.

Also the letter in which they gave me upon failing the trial indicates the start date of the trial as 16.07.18 when I actually started on the role on 05.07.18.

The respondents defence is formed mostly around this trial period and the date of its commencement, which is obviously untrue.

The respondent has provided their representative with false information and on this basis they have applied to strike out my defense, which has failed.

Also they have cited that they will apply to the court to claw back all solicitor fees up to £24,000.

They have approached my colleague who was successfull in the trial and he has provided a omitted version of our conversation to put me into a bad light.

I have now disclosed the full conversation to the respondent.

I hope this clears things up!

Thanks

[ecalid]

Hi Ula

Sorry, I know my previous post was a bit long.

Do you have any thoughts on it?

Thanks in advance

[ULA]

Yes I read your post soon after you posted it. Sorry but since it was a post that provided further information on the situation I had was not sure what guidance you needed/wanted.

If you can be more specific about what you need advice on then I can try to help.

Just on the costs that is pretty standard for a represented other side to "threaten" submission of costs. It is unlikely that that you will have to pay for costs if you have properly prepared your case. This is a useful link to costs orders which although written from a respondent's perspective does give good information on the subject.

[ecalid]

Ula help!!!!

Witness statements are due in today after being delayed and delayed.

I want to let the tribunal know that the respondent had sent me a letter indicating their intention to recover costs over £20k. How is best to bring this to the tribunals attention?

The respondent has asserted that no correspondence should be included in the bundle.

Please help!

Thank you!

[ULA]

I am unclear as to what you mean "

The respondent has asserted that no correspondence should be included in the bundle".

[ecalid]

Hi they emailed me to get me to discontinue my claim otherwise they will apply to the court to recover costs for over £20k.

I am just woundering how i can present this document to the court.

[ULA]

They will need to make an application to the Tribunal either verbally at the hearing or in writing up to 28 days after the date on which the judgment findings are sent to both parties. So the Tribunal will be made aware of the claim.

The normal position is that no legal costs are awarded in Employment Tribunal proceedings but this is not always guaranteed.

However there are some circumstances when legal costs are likely to be awarded:

1. The parties claim is "misconceived" i.e. it has no reasonable prospect of success
2. The party has acted vexatiously, abusively, disruptively or otherwise unreasonably in bringing or conducting the proceedings
3. The hearing has had to be postponed due to the fault of a party.

[ecalid]

Hi Ula

Just a quick update.

The witness statements have been traded.

6 witness statements have been submitted by the respondent and the general feeling is they all relate to one thing, that I believed I was engaged in a trial and they were right to dismiss me because I was giving indications of abuse of power.

I put in my witness statement that basically having considered the evidence in the bundle, i can now deduce that my start date of the role had happened around 2 weeks earlier than my particulars of claim had indicated.

It is worth noting that I was only aware of this after initiating my claim.

I did however include in my particulars of claim "the respondent is put to strict proof to identify their declaration that the role was subject to a trial period in the first instance".

In all of the witness statements, they indicate the meeting that communicated the start of a 3 month trial period had happened 2 weeks after the start of the role.

In other words, i started on or around 5th july in this role, the witnesses believe that the trial was communicated on the 16th.

It is my interpretation that I could not have been engaged in a trial if it was communicated 10 days after commencing the role.

If it is the respondents view that the trial was engaged from the commencement of the role, then I should have finished the trial on 5th october.

I was not told the outcome of the trial period until 20th October.

Between 5th october and 20th october I was presented with a contract that indicated a 3 month trial period commencing from 16th july.

This contract is also in the bundle. In a sticky label written by the respondent it reads " please sign and return 1 contract and both job descriptions please"

I did not sign this contract and immedietly contacted HR in protest of this clause.

This new contract also required me to give 1 months notice.

Upon resigning I gave 2 weeks and this was met without protest.

I am therefore certain that the respondent had withdrawn or rescinded the contract after first executed contract clause that I protested.

One of the witness statements is from the colleague who I shared the role with and he also has acknowledged that the meeting took place on the 16th and so did the commencement of the role.

In the facebook conversations. He acknowledges myself having commenced the role from the 5th.

This conversation is now in the bundle.

My wage slips also corroborate that I started on the 5th.


What are your thoughts on this please?

Thank you!

[ULA]

Sorry just some background information you are claiming automatic unfair dismissal under what of the specific circumstances for which this is a legal argument are you saying happened in your situation. You are also claiming constructive dismissal what is the serious breach of your contract you are claiming led you having no alternative but to resign?

Can i just get some clarification specifically about the order and timing of events which does seem to be confusing at least to me:

1. When were you formally offered a new role even if this was verbally? Were you given details of the terms upon which is was being offered? If so when did this happen?
2. Was there any indication as to when this new role would start?
3. Were you given any new written contract for that new role prior to the contract you were given between 5th and 20th Oct and if so when?
4. When did you actually start performing the duties of the new role.
5. Who was the communication about the trial period given to? Was it work colleagues and if so was this at a staff meeting?
6. When you say in post #52 your were "

summarily dismissed by my (manager) from this additional role I presume you mean the role you were doing for the trial period? Does that mean just the role or complete employment with the company? Unsure as you then go on to say you left claiming "constructive dismissal"?
7. It would appear though that you returned back to work?
8. On what basis did you agree to return?

9. Did you only give 2 weeks notice because that was in the contract for your previous role before the trial role?
10. Can you also confirm what date you actually left?