Employment Tribunal

[EmploymentTribunal]

Has anyone been through the employment tribunal process?

I’m going through it myself for various forms of disability discrimination and unfair dismissal (due to my disability-related sickness absence). I had around 17/18 days of sickness absences over the course of my 3 years at my previous job. Most of these were related to my disabilities, which my former employer were aware of. Thankfully, I can prove this.

They also repeatedly refused to implement reasonable adjustments, which would have avoided my dismissal. They asserted multiple times that I had to be treated the same as every other employee.

We are approaching disclosure and the final hearing is scheduled for mid 2025.
I refused judicial mediation, but my employer has informed me that they are eager to settle. I think this is because they care so much about their reputation. If how they treated me became public, it would be damning for them. They would lose clients and money etc.

I fully intend on proceeding to the final hearing in hope that they learn their lesson and won’t subject their other employees to the same treatment. It has been awful.

Any advice or words of support is much appreciated.

my advice is to ask how much their settlement is.

Thank you. I’ve given them my schedule of loss, but they haven’t sent me any offer. They’ve only written to me expressing a desire to settle.

Should I ask them? Or are they expected to send me an offer?

Make them an offer to settle out of court

Make conditions that it must be paid by close of business on such and such a date and if not you will proceed to court regardless.

A lot of companies hold out as long as they can and then email over a settlement the very morning you go to court. By which time, you've already left the house.

Just tell Acas to communicate that you will settle for the figure set out in your schedule of loss. Then it will go from there.

Settle if you before Tribunal. Whilst their rep is at stake so is yours. The record will come up if a future employer googles you. Even if you win, you will be regarded as potentially litigious.

Discrimination is usually always heard when it relates to disability and race. It is also very hard to prove. The employer will have an experienced barrister. Unless you have union support to take to tribunal I advise you to settle.

Employers don't necessarily have an experienced barrister. many of them rely on ACAS also 😁

I wouldn't get too excited about ACAS to be honest. In the days before the internet they were a useful source of information. Nowadays, they don't tell you anything you cant google.

That depends on the size of the Employer and their resources.

Acas isn’t being suggested to give advice. The process is that they communicate offers between the parties and have the power to confirm a legally binding settlement

No the op said she didn’t want judicial mediation which is a completely different process. Acas are involved right up until the day of the hearing. I’m an employment lawyer with 28 years of experience

Really? So presumably they have to be paid for that? If not, where do they get their funding from?

That’s what worries me, is that potential employers could Google me etc.

I have a lot of proof of this (emails and meeting minutes etc.) They have a barrister, who has been qualified for around three years

My friend is representing me, who has Union experience. Thankfully!

Acas is publicly funded. Acas conciliation is an awful lot cheaper than judicial time

Thank you. ACAS hasn’t been in touch with me, only their solicitor. I’ll refer them to my schedule of loss as a start - thank you

You must have had some contact with Acas to bring the claim. Just call them.

Can you clarify - do you have Union / ACAS / legal involvement?

Do not show your hand. It's for them to.make an offer.

Not always, sometimes solicitor/representative do this directly. I personally think the ACAS route is best though.

Sorry, I think you may be correct once official ET proceedings are underway, hence COT3.

It can be done directly at any point but the OP is unrepresented and it is literally what ACAS is there to do. The OP would have a frank and open conversation with the neutral acas officer who will then go to the other side and see what they are willing to offer. Then OP can then consider this (or she could put out her own offer via ACAS first). It's also far cheaper and easier to do a COT3 than a settlement agreement, even where solicitors are involved.

There are also potential pitfalls if the OP does it directly. She would need a settlement agreement signed off by a solicitor plus she might inadvertently say something in open correspondence which she intends to be without prejudice or she might think she's making a without prejudice comment but it might not qualify as without prejudice (effectively off the record).

Negotiating settlement via ACAS is cheaper and easier in the vast majority of cases.

Going for 'your day in court' is tempting but can be a high wire act.

The vast majority of cases settle.

The employer is likely to be insured and the insurer will be a strong driver in terms of offers etc.

Don’t put yourself through it unless you have to. Maybe speak to a solicitor for an idea on quantum and approach them with a figure.

It is the employee who has brought the claim so she must know what she’s looking for.

Thank you.

I knew that in terms of insurance and how they push for settlements, however, surely they cannot pressure the claimant in any way to come to the table, so to speak?