ET Court day

[starwarsfan]

Hi all

I am researching into what happens the day of the ET court so i know what to expect and to be fully prepared.

I will be representing myself (claimant) so any info on the giving of evidence and or cross examination by myself or the respondent's Rep would be helpful.

Expectations and advice welcomed.

ET is currently set to be 4 months away via a virtual hearing.

Many Thanks

[ULA]

The first thing to do is ensure that you have all your paperwork in order. Has the bundle been produced yet or have you at least an agreement with the other party as to who is producing the bundle? The bundle is the file of documents that the tribunal will need to look at during the hearing. These documents are the evidence in your case. You must know this bundle really well particularly in relations to where to find key facts and information. You can also start to prepare your questions for any witnesses that are being called by the respondent based on their witness statements.

In terms of the actual hearing you will be provided in advance the details for the video hearing, which will more than likely be via a Cloud Video Platform (CVP). Here is a useful link to some information on this:

http://www.gov.uk/guidance/what-to-e...-video-hearing

There is no prescribed order for which side presents their case first, although the nature of the case may influence this. Any witnesses being called will give an oath before giving their statement. This may be a prepared statement (the tribunal will often direct for these to be prepared & exchanged in advance), in which case they will either be required to read the statement, or affirm it to be accurate, with the judge directing the parties to read their own copies of this document.

After a witness statement is given, the party that called the witness will have a chance to ask questions of the witness; these are generally helpful to the presentation of their case. After examination, the witness can be cross-examined by the opposing side, and this is where questions may become more awkward. The judge will intervene if an advocate is being unreasonable on a witness, although some discretion has to be allowed as the party wants to get what they will consider to be important evidence exposed.

After the cross-examination, the first party will be able to re-examine the witness, following which the members of the tribunal may ask questions to clarify the evidence given.

Where a party is not represented at a hearing, the judge will often assist them in presenting their case, but this should not be relied upon too much, as the judge will remain impartial, and therefore more restrained in their questioning than a professional advocate.

After the witnesses, the parties will be given the chance to sum up their case, before the tribunal sits in private to consider the case. Judgements will be given on the day if time permits, but may otherwise be issued by post.

Hope this helps but if you any further questions please come back to this thread.

[starwarsfan]

Thanks ULA

we have just passed the evidence exchange mark - the respondent does have a REP and will prepare the bundle.

i have spent a few hours today reading through the ACAS and .gov guides on the hearing so have a rough idea what to expect along with your words backing up and reassuring what i have read.

there was a dispute on several key points of which i have proved to be correct using text and documents from the respondent and companies house etc

however some items important to the case have manipulated by the respondent (i have evidence of this) and also they are unable to locate my contract as well as changing others contracts without anything written or verbal agreeing to these changes.

i believe i have a strong case and have already been issued a costs order along with a small settlement offer prior to the evidence exchange deadline.

i think as you say the next step is to see what is in the witness statements so i then can base my case around catching them out on the false statements and ever changing stories they have presented so far to date.


thank you

[ULA]

The witness statements will be really important and where you want to concentrate your cross examination questions will be around where there are discrepancies between the statement and your version of events.

Once you get to review these statements and if you have any more questions just come back to this thread.

[starwarsfan]

after a little advice on SOL and what to include.

i will change details slightly to remain anon.

during my main employment (9-5) job at a warehouse i earned x amount per month - however i also on an ad hoc basis did days here and there as a face painter - some of these days were weekends and others week days using annual leave - the face painting work is something of a hobby which i have done for 5 years which is also something i did pre warehouse employment.

since my warehouse job ended i have had more work face painting - this brings me to my question.

i was advised not to include face painting income in my SOL as it is not a loss due to loosing my warehouse job and so it was not included.

however as i am doing more face painting do i need to include this income in my SOL as it is still income earned ?

or

do i not include it as face painting is something ive done pre warehouse job.

ULA any thoughts on this ?

[starwarsfan]

just to add that we have gone past the SOL deadline but i put a clause in stating reserve the right to update

[ULA]

You are expected to mitigate your loss by finding another source of income. If you have done this by increasing your face-painting activity then you should be setting this out as income in your SoL.

[starwarsfan]

You are expected to mitigate your loss by finding another source of income. If you have done this by increasing your face-painting activity then you should be setting this out as income in your SoL.

thank you , thats how i understood it to be.

[starwarsfan]

I have been approached twice now by the respondent to negotiate an early settlement.

First time was directly trough their solicitor with a very low offer that does not cover what I'm owed let alone any compensation - i did turn this down , this offer was made pre swapping any evidence, i took it as early admission on their part.

I have received through ACAS an early settlement offer of negotiation for which i submitted my SOL totalling full amounts and HMRC deductions they need to put right.

my question is - what is a reasonable amount or % of total claim as outlined in the SOL ?

Any thoughts ULA ?

i believe my case is very strong and will win come ET day.

[ULA]

I cannot really advise what to settle at. You know the value of your claim and what you have to think about is what would you be prepared to accept to reach a settlement without the need to go to the ET. Do not forget it is a negotiation and there may be some back and forth before any agreement is reached or you may not end up reaching a settlement.

[starwarsfan]

after swapping evidence it is clear some of my PAYE was not declared with HMRC , i have evidence from the respondent showing they have given me cash for overtime and for regular pay but this has no pay slip nor do my HMRC records show any variation to the regular monthly wages.

I have asked for payslips and proof they made the PAYE deductions to HMRC , as these fall into 3 filed tax years surely this is theft and fraud which strengthens my case further ?

[ULA]

Since I am not really sure what your claim is for as you have not mentioned it in any of your posts, I cannot say whether this information will strengthen your case.

As an employee, you may be paid in cash however, this does not affect your liability to pay tax and NIC on your earnings. Your employer should have got your agreement to doing this and made sure they worked out the correct amounts of PAYE tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs) to pay to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

You should always receive a payslip each time you were paid, even if this was in cash. This a legal obligation of any employer. If you were paid part cash and part by other means e.g. cheque or direct into your bank account your payslip should have set what payment was being made and by what method.
Please be aware that if your employer has failed to meet their obligations under PAYE, HMRC can demand the income tax and NIC from you at a later date in certain circumstances. Also, if your employer has not paid over NIC to HMRC for you, you may lose out on state benefits.

I do not want jump to conclusions about your ex-employer but it may be that if they have not provided you with a pay slip, covering the element of pay you received as cash, they may have been trying to avoid their obligations under PAYE.

If you think your ex-employer has been acting illegally then it would be a report to HMRC.

[starwarsfan]

Thanks ULA

The claim is constructive unfair dismissal.

I was employed by 2 directors that own 2 companies, I was paid PAYE by one company and then they stopped paying PAYE , I was paid for a further 4 months the same tax deducted amount and then company 2 began paying the same tax deducted amount for a further 10 months again not declaring PAYE I was then put back on company 2 PAYE.

they are cliaming I was self employed for the period PAYE was not paid to HMRC however this was not the case, I had no knowledge of any of this until my contract was abruptly terminated and like I say my monthly wage amount in bank never changed.

As no contract other than the first (I don't have a copy nor can my ex employer "locate it")was signed then I believe I fall under TUPE and have continous service.

I was given a pay rise paid in cash despite being told it would be paid through company books however never received payslips , I trusted my employer so never had any reason to doubt anything.

Part of evidence submitted also shows overtime cash payment and again no payslip or submission to HMRC.

i have never had any disciplinary either.

Theres alot more to this.

I reported this to HMRC as soon as I found out and now they have given me a tax refund which I have not claimed and am in the process of sorting this with HMRC.

[ULA]

Thanks for your response to my post #12 and glad to hear that you have reported it to HMRC and that you are sorting this with them.

It sounds like the respondent is trying to argue that you were not an employee therefore you are not entitled make a claim. You will need to firstly prove that you were an employee and not self-employed as they claim and secondly, if you are claiming constructive unfair dismissal, that the treatment/actions of the employer has seriously breached their employment contract and left you with no option but to resign.

[starwarsfan]

Thanks ULA

Yeah the self employment is difficult although there's no service contract or invoices sent by me so there's no evidence I was , but the monthly wage amounts remained the same, let's say its 500 pcm, that never changed although my pension contributions was not paid so effectively they stole that aswell which I reported to pensions regulator.

Without adding specific detail as this is identifiable i was told to leave but with a distinct profanity, to which I did exactly as I was told, this was later confirmed by respondent in writing and then denied in writing with no another change of story , I've caught them out on several lies throughout , I know my case is far stronger its just getting all this in witness statement and cross examination come court day.

I've been fully honest from day 1 so I'm hoping the truth will prevail and the lies will catch them out.