Preliminary Hearing - disibility discrimination

[Abacus123]

Hello, my preliminary hearing is next Monday. My claim was accepted on 10 July '23, However, when I received the hearing notice in December '23, it highlighted that an 'Employment Judge will determine whether the tribunal has power to hear the claim as it appears to have been presented out of time'. I have not been asked to prepare anything for the hearing, I was only asked to send an impact statement and medical evidence to the employer which I did and they rejected. What can i expect from the hearing if the claim 'appears' to be out of time, do I still need to prepare in the same way as if it were not? and what do I need to prepare in terms of documents? The hearing will be about 2 hours long.
When I phoned the Tribunal Court I was told there is nothing in my file about it being presented late. I was told it was most probably a mistake (which i do not believe it is) and I should not worry about it (which I am ! lol). Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you.

[ULA]

The question of an out of time claim can be easily resolved by establishing whether or not you presented your claim within 3 months less a day from the incident complained if.

In regard to preparing for the hearing have you been asked to complete a Case Management Agenda?

[Abacus123]

No I do not believe I presented it on time. I have not been asked to complete a case management agenda. Would I need to prepare any documents?

[ULA]

If you did not present your claim on time then I suggest that you need to be able to present reasons why you did not meet the required deadline.

I also suggest you call the Tribunal and find out if you need to prepare a Case Managemen Agenda, if so ask then to email it to you.

[Abacus123]

Hello, I do not have a Case Management Agenda. When I look at my ET1 it is very vague and I wish to amend/ add to it before the Preliminary hearing on Monday. Can I email the changes to the Court or would i need to attach a new ET1 ? I also wish to add automatic unfair dismissal and deduction of wages. Do you recommend I let them know on Monday or send as much information as I can today? I feel that the judge will deem my case as weak if I do not add more details. Thank you.

[ULA]

Given your #3 post confirming you believe your claim is out of time and you have no case management agenda, I suspect, but cannot say for certain, that the hearing is purely to determine whether or not your claim should be struck out. The basis for this being that unless you can give reasonable grounds for why you delayed submitting your claim then it will not be allowed to proceed and will be struck out.

My suggestion would be to concentrate on preparing the reasons for your delay in submitting the claim for the hearing on Monday.

Only if it is allowed to proceed will it then be relevant to ask to amend your particulars of claim to add more detail about the claim you were originally making. In addition you will need to clearly set out the reasons why you believe you have a claim for automatic unfair dismIssal and deduction of wages. Also you will have to have valid reasons as to why they were not part of the claim set out in your ET1.

[Abacus123]

Hi, thank you for your reply. I have my reasons already prepared to explain why the claim was out of time.However, yesterday someone advised me to look at section 129 . 420 of the Equality Act and told me that I have 6 months to make a claim anyway. This has totally confused me! Would you able to help me on this ? Thank you.

[ULA]

I can certainly help you.

You are making a claim at an Employment Tribunal in respect of disability discrimination, so the time limit to make the claim is 3 months less a day from the date the discrimination happened

If you were making a claim in the civil court for disability discrimination, then it is 6 months less a day. An example if a claim made to the civil court would be a restaurant refusing someone entry because they have a guide dog due to the fact they have a no dogs policy.

[Abacus123]

Hi, thanks for clarifying the time limits, seems that even the solicitors still get confused! My claim was struck out, it was a very odd experience. For the most part of the hearing the judge went through my ET1 and even quizzed me on the reasonable adjustments I had asked for. The medical evidence I had been asked to provide before the hearing was not even mentioned. Should I not have been given a Case Management Agenda? Do I mention this if I ask for a reconsideration or is it not a mandatory requirement for a preliminary hearing?

[ULA]

If the hearing was to establish if your claim was presented in time and can proceed, then potentially a Case Management Agenda would not be required

[Abacus123]

I have asked for written reason as the reasons I was given at the end of the hearing were very long. If I want to apply for a reconsideration do I have 14 days from when I receive these in writing or from the date of the actual hearing?

[Benny8902]

I have asked for written reason as the reasons I was given at the end of the hearing were very long. If I want to apply for a reconsideration do I have 14 days from when I receive these in writing or from the date of the actual hearing?

Explained on gov website below

https://www.gov.uk/employment-tribun...20reconsidered.

[Abacus123]

Thank you so much!