Employment Tribunal First Preliminary Hearing

[UpsetEmploye]

Hello All, I am new to the Forum and have a few questions I would like answering, Your help will be very much appreciated.



1. "The Respondent requests that the Claimant is asked to prepare a Scott Schedule setting out full details of, and the legal basis for, each allegation of discrimination or detriment that has been raised. The Respondent submits that the content of this Scott Schedule can be discussed with the Claimant at the forthcoming Preliminary Hearing"

Do I have to provide this for the first PH?

2. "The Respondent requests that the Claimant is asked to provide full medical evidence of his alleged disability at the Preliminary Hearing"

Do I have to provide this for the first PH?

3. "The Respondent respectfully requests permission to file amended Grounds of Resistance" The respondent has stated multiple times through out their Grounds of Resistance this statement"

Why have they stated this as I feel I have been quite clear about the allegations in my ET1 and what are the reasons behind this generic statement? I find this as a tactic to try and get their story straight as a lot of members of staff have left the organisation, and I have most of the evidence.

[ULA]

In answer to your questions presuming you are the claimant:

1. A discrimination claim must be presented in accordance with the relevant statutory test in the Equality Act 2010. The Scott Schedule is usually a precursor to a preliminary hearing where the Judge is going to consider whether your claims are out of time and whether your claims fall within the requirements of the Equality Act. So yes you need to provide it in the required format

2. Again if you are claiming that discrimination is due to disability then you need to provide evidence of the disability. The judge will need to make a decision as to whether your medical condition falls under the definition of a disability under the Equality Act 2010. Yes this needs to be provided.

3. Not sure what the query is around this point as your question is not very clear. It looks like the respondent is asking to amend their Grounds of Resistence. Is this what they are asking?

[UpsetEmploye]

Hello and thank you for your quick response and I am sorry if I have not been completely clear, this is the first time I have had to go to the ET in 20 years of my working life and this is all new to me.

1.The respondent has asked for a Scott Schedule for the whistleblowing and disability discrimination in their ET3 at the first PH for case management. I have very little time to prepare the Scott Schedule and would prefer this to be submitted for the main hearing.

What are the implications for not not having the Scott Schedule for the first PH for CMD?

2.I would prefer that the question of disability is decided at the main hearing. What will happen if I requested to the ET that medical evidence is provided for the main hearing in the Agenda for Case Management?

3.The Respondent requests that the Claimant is asked to provide full medical evidence of his alleged disability at the Preliminary Hearing. The Respondent requests permission to file amended Grounds of Resistance following the provision of this further information by the Claimant.

The Respondent requests permission to file amended Grounds of Resistance following the provision of a completed Scott Schedule by the Claimant.

How likely are they going to be able to amend their Grounds of Resistance? Can I say to the EJ that they are using this tactic to get their story straight?

[ULA]

It may be new and potentially a very daunting experince but if you have opted to go to a Tribunal you need to ensure that you are fully aware of the process.

A preliminary hearing (PH) takes place before the main employment tribunal hearing and usually happens in more complicated cases or those that involve discrimination. It is designed to help the judge understand the case and make arrangements for the main hearing. At this hearing the judge may discuss specific parts of the case end even decide whether any of your claim or your employer’s responses should not be discussed at the main hearing i.e. get they get “struck out” and cannot proceed to be used in any final hearing.

The importance of preparing for a PH is not to be underestimated. While not designed to bring the claim to a conclusion, it is intended to help parties prepare for the final hearing, and decisions can still be made that could affect your ability to pursue your claim.

Prior to the PH the employment tribunal will usually require both parties to complete a written agenda for the hearing in advance. This is a standard document with various questions, including what the claim is for, what compensation is being sought and any preliminary issues to be decided.

Given the above if there is a question about disability and this cannot be proven at the PH then as indicated above the judge may decide to “strike out” part or all of the claim. Not all the documentation that gets prepared may end up being used in the PH but it is far better to be well prepared than not have everything available and face the potential of having part or all of your claim “struck out”.

If the respondent has reasonable arguments and can make a case for amending the grounds of resistance once further evidence has been provided, then it would be up to the judge to make a decision based on the merits of the request.

[UpsetEmploye]

Thank you for your response.

[UpsetEmploye]

Hello all

I am in the process of taking my employer to the employment Tribunal, and they have produced documents that I have never seen before in the bundle and were not in the subject access request that I have made. I believe they have made them up to support their defence, also their are lies in their ET3 of which I can back up with evidence.

How do I tactfully handle this situation without upsetting the Employment Judge?

All help will be very much appreciated.

[Law Student 6]

ULA Celestine

Good morning.

The bundle combines both parties' documents to form one pack. You have to agree the contents with the other party as the judge uses it at the trial.

The question is not whether you will upset the employment judge, but how much the opposing side will after you show proof that they are being untruthful.

Therefore, if documents are enclosed which were not agreed between you both then object to them being used in the bundle. You must state why you think they should be removed, but if you insist that they should not be in there and you can object at the hearing if you believe they are irrelevant or untruthful. Once again you need to write and ask them to remove them.

Please record all communication for proof and bring the matter to the attention of the Tribunal if they won't remove the additional content.

Hope this helps and good luck.

[MIKE770]

a tribunal is is a tribunal not a trial.,

[Law Student 6]

*judge will use it at the tribunal - apologies. Thank you.

[ULA]

Hi UpsetEmploye please can you confirm that this thread is related to your other thread also related to your ET claim. If so I will have to merge these threads, even if they are on different issues they are still on the same subject your ET claim. Those of us advising you need to have sight of all the facts when providing our advice.

[Law Student 4]

Celestine ULA It is possible for you to disagree with your employers ET3 response form. However, it is advised for you to not write to your employer or the tribunal at this stage as this could lead to arguments. Arguing about what the employer said should take place in discussions about a possible settlement or during the tribunal hearing. Gathering evidence for the things which you disagree with is important.

[UpsetEmploye]

Hello and thank you for your reply’s. This thread is related to my other thread and is part of the same Employment Tribunal claim.

[ULA]

In regard to your recent issue of documents the bundle does need to represent both parties’ positions and the duty of disclosure requires each party to ensure that they have disclosed everything relevant to the case. It is also an ongoing requirement even after exchange of the bundle if new relevant documents are discovered.

The agreement that you are giving is that all the documents you are seeking to rely on are contained within the Bundle. If there are any missing, you must ask for them to be included as these documents are the evidence in your case so it is vital to make sure that they are there.

If you have concerns in regard to the documents provided in the bundle for the respondent's cast then the way to deal with this is either by way of your Witness Statement (WT) if you think some of them should have been disclosed as part of the SAR and which I presume will be referenced in the WT or when you are at the hearing and you are cross examining the respondent and/or their witnesses.

[UpsetEmploye]

Hello,

How often were legal costs awarded in the Employment Tribunals from April 2020 to April 2021 and what was the average amount awarded in costs?

[ULA]

April 2020 to April 2021 would not be very representative since for a long time during that period Tribunals did not sit due to the pandemic.

Generally speaking, and regardless of which party wins the case, cost awards, where the Employment Tribunal orders one party to pay the legal costs of the other, remain somewhat rare. Where they are awarded, the sum is relatively small, with the average cost award being around £2,400 for 2018/2019.

That said, there was one case reported last Autumn where the actual claim outcome was in 2018 and the claimant was awarded to pay nearly £430,000 in the highest award a Tribunal has made, which I am sure will be appealed.