Settlements or tribunal ?

[DD1982]

Dear all im new here and im looking for a bit of advice really i have an impending tribunal case against a major company to which i have found out that they have been illegally deducting employees wages by not paying them correct overtime rates for at least 6 years ,i myself decided to stand up to these corporate bullies and make a stand to which ive been victimized and slandered and 1 whole year later something comes through my post ,all the internal documents confirming what they have been doing on site since 2008 the emails that confirm my manager telling payroll not to pay me correct rates and also 3 statements that have been written by my former colleagues that include personal information that i shared with my manager as a friend, these statements also include assumptions and no facts whatsoever nd are extremely hurtful now my dilemma is what do i do with these as they were sent to me anonymously i have been doing this case on my own acas what a figure to settle im not sure how much if i even want to settle an advisor told me to disclose his info to them but im just not sure and need some god old advice please :))

You will have received a letter from the Employment Tribunal (ET) providing you with the hearing date, this usually includes dates for a schedule of loss to be given to your employer (or their representatives) and ACAS - where you set out how much your claim is for; disclosure of documents - you need to let your employer (or their representatives) have copies of documents relating to your case including all documents that go in favour of and against you; and exchange of witness statements including yours and statements of other people.

The schedule of loss needs dates of your employment and details of your salary on a weekly basis. A lot of what needs to be written in the schedule of loss will depend on what claim(s) you put in the claim form to the ET - are you still employed by the same employer, is it unlawful deduction of wages only or did it include other elements, for example, discrimination?

It is unlikely your employer will pay the full amount on your schedule of loss at this stage as by reaching an agreement before the hearing, this reduces risks for both of you. Settlement amounts are usually negotiated and you do not need to agree to settle if the offer is too low but it would be good to provide your employer (or their representatives) with reasons why and you can do this through ACAS to avoid hostility and any bad feeling.

You need to be aware that if you settle through ACAS before a hearing takes place there is an agreement called a COT3. Usual clauses in the agreement include that by agreeing to the settlement your employer will not accept liability; details of the amount; within what period of time the payment will be made (could be 7, 14 or 21 days for example); and a confidentiality clause that usually prevents you from discussing the matter with anyone except immediate family members and when necessary by law.

Hope this helps.