Appealing a dismissal

[MrSharples]

[ULA]

The order of actions is that by 17 May so Wed the respondent should send you a hard copy of the bundle containing all the documents, you are both currently aware, of that you are going to rely on at the hearing. If you have not sent all the documents you want to rely on, then you need to get them sent by email to the respondent as soon as possible today.

By 31 May you and the respondent need to be in a position to exchange witness statements.

I do have some guidance in how to prepare witness statements which I can send over to you in the next couple of days. However it is better for you to get on with the immediate action to ensure all your documents are with the respondent.

[MrSharples]

Hi Ula , thanks so much for all the help you have given me I really appreciate it, and your quick responses have been a godsend, most of the documents I have been sent to be included in the bundle by his solicitor are what I would have wanted to include anyway, there is a few things that I am going to send to the solicitor today which I think are relevant to the case.I would really appreciate it if you could send me anything that would help me when writing my witness statement
Thanks a lot
David

[ULA]

Here are a couple of documents to help you.

The template sets out the points to cover, however given you need to present in short numbered paragraphs there will likely be many more numbered bullet points than have been set out in the template.

[MrSharples]

Hi Ula, many thanks for your replies, and all your help. You may remember we spoke about the respondent, and their failure to pass information set out in the case management document. I did eventually recieve the documents a week late after allowing their solicitors an extra week to set out further and better particulars with regards to the case. I did receive the documents which I should have received on the 3rd May on the 10th May , however the next date on the case management document states we must swap further information by the 31st May, including witness statements etc.I emailed the corespondents solicitor on the 30th May reminding them that they have not sent me anything, and they should do so by the date set out in the case management document, basically stating they have only 1 day left. I mentioned that I have sent all the documents they need , but in order to send my witness statement , ( which is completed ) I cannot complete my witness statement fully, as I need the full bundle, with numbered documents which I need to relate to in my witness statement. This is now the second time they have failed to meet dates set out by the Tribunals Office in the case management document. I've had no reply as we speak , how long would you suggest I wait before contacting their solicitor again, and would you suggest I copy the Tribunals Office into any further emails I send , with regards to them ,once again missing these important deadlines, many thanks David

[ULA]

I would give them until close of business (CoB) Mon. Then send a letter early Tues to say that they have yet again missed a Tribunal ordered deadline despite you reminding them of the requirement on 30 May and that if you have not been provided the documents by CoB then you will be making an application to the Tribunal.

Update us as to any response.

[MrSharples]

Hi Ula , many thanks for your reply , when you say I will be making an application to the tribunal if I have not heard anything back , what does this application to the tribunal mean , and how would I word it , for example would I be requesting the tribunal office to demand the information I should have received from them , or would it be to have the case thrown out , because of their failures etc , many thanks David

[ULA]

At this stage it would be an application for the disclosure of the documents as set out in the Order. You would have to reference the Order and state what you have done in terms of correspondence to the respondent to try to get them to comply.

When you send it to the Tribunal you would need to copy in the respondent.

[MrSharples]

Hi Ula , thanks so much for help , I really appreciate it
Cheers david

[MrSharples]

Hi Ula , I'm just letting you know and keeping you up to date, especially as you have been such a great help. I sent an email to the corespondents solicitors informing them that they have failed to follow procedures and dates set out in the case management document, IE the full bundle, and the corespondents witness statement etc , this email I sent today outlining there failures, I got an immediate reply saying they would pass on the full bundle and all documents etc as soon as they could. However 10min later I received another email asking for my telephone number, and asking if they could give me a ring tommorow, and asking me if there was another way we could settle the case.I have passed on my number and agreed to see if we can settle. I'm now assuming that they are going to make me an offer. Would you please have any advice on how to handle the offer they propose , and what would be classed as a fair offer.For example it's been 6 months since I was dismissed, I have also incurred other costs trying to take my HGV1 licence to improve further chances of employment. Would you suggest I state that a fair amount to be offered would be 6 months loss of wages , plus what it cost for my HGV1 licence , or would this come across as being a bit to much.Just for your info my wages were on average about £500 per week which equates to £12000, is this figure something I should stick to , and reasonable as I have not found alternative employment yet. Would I be right in assuming that they will come in with a much lower figure etc , really do not want to come across as being greedy , but on the other hand not to soft either.
Many thanks David

[ULA]

Firstly I am concerned if they are wanting to try and settle they have not gone back to ACAS and they are contacting you directly, just a bit wary of this for you. I would suggest you contact ACAS tomorrow and the conciliator who initially dealt with the early conciliation that went nowhere and explain you have been approached directly and would it be better for ACAS to become involved again in the negotiations.

Secondly to help you reach a figure I would suggest you update your Schedule of Loss (SoL) as a starting point. You also need to consider what evidence you may need to provide to show that you have attempted to mitigate your losses such as adverts for jobs you have applied for, dates of interviews, any temporary work you have done etc.

Negotiation is always about them starting with a lower figures on the expectation they are likely to have to increase and with you the starting point will be higher than in fact you may be willing to settle at, because if they come up from their start, you will need to be seen to come down. Hope that makes sense.

[MrSharples]

Hi Ula , once again many thanks for your reply, I have just come of the phone after a 40min conversation with there solicitor, she constantly reminded me and repeated several times about cases she has worked on in the past , about claimants who have received nothing after loosing a tribunal , and indicated that the correspondent would probably settle to pay me for a total of 5 weeks only, and indicated that this is based on the fact that he would have still dismissed me anyway based on certain facts. I have stated that since it's been 5months since my dismissal ,and that a fair amount would be, 5 months loss of earnings , this is not taking into account, what it has cost me to take my HGV1 licence, to further employment prospects. To be honest I think it's really unfair of her to point out repeatedly that I could end up with nothing, if a tribunal hearing went ahead.Im totally convinced that the correspondent has not even done his witness statement, nor does he have the time to attend a tribunal hearing , hence the need to ring immediately, to discuss a settlement figure. Like you I am bit surprised by the sudden change of events, and the need for her to contact me directly all of a sudden. I have to ring her back tommorow with regards to Job Seekers Allowance I have been receiving which she wants to deduct from any payment I am awarded. Can I suggest to her tommorow that it would be a better idea for us both to go through ACAS , after all we both have been designated a conciliator from the very beginning.
Many thanks David

[ULA]

It depends on how you want to play this.

Either you put yourself through another conversation or alternatively you contact ACAS in the morning and let them know what has happened and request them to get involved. Once you know their position, then email the solicitor and say that having taken advice and being a litigant in person, you have contacted ACAS and then set out what had been agreed with them in terms of ACAS getting involved between both parties to try to come to a settlement.

[MrSharples]

Hi Ula , well once I need your advice as when things looked like we could negotiate a settlement, it seems unfortunately I'm back to square one. You may remember I contacted you after the correspondents solicitor failed to meet a deadline which was on the 31st May , this was to send me a completed bundle, I emailed them , and spoke to them on the 30th May to remind them that they only had 1 day left. I mentioned on the phone that I have been advised to seek an application for disclosure if the deadline set out in the case management document is not met.This deemed to certainly ruffle a few feathers, and apologies , there reply was that the woman dealing with my case had been away on holiday, and just returned, however later on in the day I received an email asking for my mobile number, and if someone could ring me immediately to discuss a settlement, within a few minutes of me sending my number I received a phone to discuss a settlement. During this phone call I pointed out that it would be best to let the early conciliator from Acas deal with the settlement, to which they agreed.I contacted the conciliator next day, and in turn she has been trying to negotiate 4a settlement for both parties, however this has totally broken down , as I received an email from acas stating that once again the corespondent does not want to take part in any further discussions about an early settlement.

The important thing that worries me is that whilst all this has been going on I still not have received a completed bundle from them , they have sent out a document to me last week, but once again it's only a draft copy, pretty similar to what they sent some time ago. The documents in the bundle are not numbered, so this makes it impossible for me to refer to any documents in my witness statement, I can't fully understand why they keep sending me a bundle half completed , and I have pointed this out to them twice.

I am going to email them now ,and ring them Tomorrow, would you suggest I put it to them that I will be seeking an application for disclosure, or just go ahead and do it.The tribunal is set for 17th July , and I'm worried that if I do not seek this application, sooner rather than later, it might be to late.
many thanks for your help David

[ULA]

Sorry I have only just logged into LB

Obviously you may have had the call with them by now or at least a response to the email. It sound like an unpaginated draft bundle has been provided and as far as you are aware, does this now include all the documents that both you and the respondent are going to rely on in the Tribunal that you are aware of (albeit disclosure is an ongoing process)? If so then the only issue with the bundle now is the pagination so that you can refer to the relevant pages in your witness statement.

Am I correct in my assumption?