Tribunal settlement figures

[Eric Sson]

Im going to an employment tribunal very soon for unfair dismissal and was wondering about settlement figures. Ive spoken to a few people who say if an unfair dismissal case goes to tribunal then your award is limited to what the law says you can claim. But an out of court settlement is not limited and you can ask for whatever you want, and its up to the boss to negotiate it down or not agree to it at all. My thinking is; if the boss really doesn’t want to go into the tribunal because the bad publicity would cost them far more in lost income than an out of court settlement would cost, then they should expect to pay more to keep it out of the court room than what you would have been awarded in court. In theory I could request compensation for things such as stress, damage to reputation or, hurt feelings; things which I would not be able to claim for if it went into court. I want to maximise the money I get if we settle out of court but my solicitor seems content with just asking for lost earnings and nothing else. Can I put my own financial figure on an out of court settlement and see where it goes, or do I have to keep to the figure which the solicitor says?

[charitynjw]

Re: Tribunal settlement figures

Hi Eric Sson & welcome to LB

Ekic Sson?....................That name rings a bell...............................:whistle:

IMHO (& if I may use an example)

My OH took a well-known company (employer) to ET a few years back.
I remember it as a stressful & time-consuming period, lasting approx 6 months.
The firm took it to the wire - they actually 'settled' during the lunch break of the main hearing, having dragged us through case management hearings, a Pre-Hearing Review & , of course, months of sifting through evidence, case law, legislation, Codes of Practice etc etc.
We knew that our case was sound, so their legal rep must also have known; that didn't stop them from using every trick in their book to wriggle out of it. (& fair play, that's what they get paid the big bucks for!)
& this was before you had to pay to go to ET.
So, again imho by all means go for it (the tactical ploy, as it were) if that is your game plan.
Just be aware that you might not find as easy a mark as you hope for.
But I do wish you the best of luck.

[Eric Sson]

Re: Tribunal settlement figures

Hi Eric Sson & welcome to LB

Ekic Sson?....................That name rings a bell...............................:whistle:

I didn't think anyone would get the name after they parted ways with Sony. I'm impressed :tinysmile_grin_t:

Thank you for the reply. My boss is very stubborn, he was advised not to sack me by the very people who are now representing him as they said it would be an unsafe dismissal, he ignored them because its his company and he will do what he wants. We have an extremely strong case and they know it, but his stubbornness means he will probably take his chances in the courtroom rather than settle, but im preparing just in case his representative manage to talk some sense into him. Either way I am coming away with something, but going through with the hearing will mean he loses much more than what he has to pay out to me. I don't think the penny has dropped yet though.

[charitynjw]

Re: Tribunal settlement figures

I didn't think anyone would get the name after they parted ways with Sony. I'm impressed :tinysmile_grin_t:

Thank you for the reply. My boss is very stubborn, he was advised not to sack me by the very people who are now representing him as they said it would be an unsafe dismissal, he ignored them because its his company and he will do what he wants. We have an extremely strong case and they know it, but his stubbornness means he will probably take his chances in the courtroom rather than settle, but im preparing just in case his representative manage to talk some sense into him. Either way I am coming away with something, but going through with the hearing will mean he loses much more than what he has to pay out to me. I don't think the penny has dropped yet though.

The tip we were given (from this site, & probably the best pointer from anyone/anywhere):-

Get all your

[Eric Sson]

Re: Tribunal settlement figures

My solicitor has put a stop to any ideas of an out of court settlement including things that the court would not award. So nothing for stress, damage to reputation or, hurt feelings etc. He is just wanting to match the court pound for pound. In that case, ive come this far so I may as well let it go to court because im not going to be any worse off, but my boss will be.

[Bill#]

Re: Tribunal settlement figures

My solicitor has put a stop to any ideas of an out of court settlement including things that the court would not award. So nothing for stress, damage to reputation or, hurt feelings etc. He is just wanting to match the court pound for pound. In that case, ive come this far so I may as well let it go to court because im not going to be any worse off, but my boss will be.

Best thing would be to follow your solicitor's advice, after all, he/she is legally qualified.

[Openlaw15]

Re: Tribunal settlement figures

Im going to an employment tribunal very soon for unfair dismissal and was wondering about settlement figures. Ive spoken to a few people who say if an unfair dismissal case goes to tribunal then your award is limited to what the law says you can claim. But an out of court settlement is not limited and you can ask for whatever you want, and its up to the boss to negotiate it down or not agree to it at all. My thinking is; if the boss really doesn’t want to go into the tribunal because the bad publicity would cost them far more in lost income than an out of court settlement would cost, then they should expect to pay more to keep it out of the court room than what you would have been awarded in court. In theory I could request compensation for things such as stress, damage to reputation or, hurt feelings; things which I would not be able to claim for if it went into court. I want to maximise the money I get if we settle out of court but my solicitor seems content with just asking for lost earnings and nothing else. Can I put my own financial figure on an out of court settlement and see where it goes, or do I have to keep to the figure which the solicitor says?

You could get far more if it went to court but tribunals will have compensation caps. If the opponent wants to settle out of court, in theory he or she could potentially offer you more than the tribunal awards to settle. tribunal/ court = judge's remedy on the facts. Settle out of court = not law but parties' negotiations.