Need advice from HR on proceedures for unfair dismissal claim

[fluffy3]

I have been recently dismissed and I have shown my details to both a 'no win-no fee' guy - who bit my hand off - and to a solicitor covered by a legal insurance policy.
Although I have started with the legal insurance solicitor, I am really concerned with the service I am getting. What is the best practice for proceeding with a claim and what should I think about?
My questions are:

1. What is the normal proceedure? ( I thought you write a snotty letter to the company and warn them you have a case and see what response you get).
2. Do you wait and see what response you get before setting out your case or do you lodge the whole case with the Employment Tribunal, then get the company response?
3. Do no win guys get higher payouts as they are driven by money? Is there anything I should be careful about with these operations?

tx

It depends on the contract you have with them, sometimes they recoup the expenses seperatly from your award, sometimes they take a % of the award. They have to lodge a complaint with the tribunal within a three month time limit. They don't contact the other party, everything is done through the solicitors. They should be setting out the case now based on the info you give them, this will say what you are claiming for. This will be the claim to the tribunal. The company will recieve the paperwork from the tribunal who will say a comlaint has been lodged, your solicitor will get info from then regarding you and your claim which he will use in the tribunal. You should hear from ACAS, who will try and mediate to prevent this going to a tribunal.

It'll be OK. I've done this. I went through a law centre, my solicitor was rubbish and I ended up settling myself as he had another case to attend
You can go to the CAB, they can help you with everything rather then a solicitor. Everything you need is on the ACAS web site.

There was a thread on here recently about constructive dismissal which may have some useful information for you. I think this is the link.

As I posted on that thread, I knew someone who used a no-win no-fee lawyer and his experience was not good. You just need to be careful.

Thanks.
I am more confident about the no win guy because the legal insurance solicitor has drawn up this awful ET document where she lays the whole case out. As a trained negotiator I would always just say ' I got a claim' with the least details and wait for the response from the other party. How much detail does the ET doc need to cover?
Just the gist of the case -that they didn't follow proceedures or the whole story?
tx

The ET will need everything, copy of your employment contract, evidence, everything. They are really thorough as they need to understand how you/your employer managed to get to the stage you are in. They do recommend that you go through the grievance procedure at work first, IIRC, if you are claiming constructive dismissal then you need to say this on your resignation letter, constructive dismissal is then forcing you out of your job through their conduct towards you and means the same as an unlawful dismissal in compensation terms.

The ET document isn't too difficult to do, many claimants have no legal representation and have to do this themselves. The CAB are really helpful if you need a second opinion.

hi fluffy

it is normal and good practice to set out your complaint on the ET1 form. if not, the employer can just demand further an better particulars, or move to have your claim struck out on the basis of being weak. Sounds like your solicitor knows what he/she is doing.

you have to exchange all your evidence in advance of hte hearing anyway

average unfair dismissal compensation is £3-4K, so I would really avoid the no win no fee person as they are likely to take a chunk. compensation will be based on actual losses to date of hearing, and likely future loss of earnings. you have a duty to mitigate your losses by applying for other roles.

Thank you so much. That is very useful. Interestingly, the no win no fee guy gave me a figure of between £10 - 20k because my former employer has driven a coach and horses through normal procedures and have done just about everything they could do wrong!
If the average payouts are so low, then why do co's bother trying to avoid ET's? £3-4k is chicken feed to thier profits

"If the average payouts are so low, then why do co's bother trying to avoid ET's? £3-4k is chicken feed to thier profits"

Publicity a lot of the time. If the claim got to tribunal stage and the press got wind of it etc. That's why many companies will offer substantial payouts just so that the case doesn't get to tribunal!

I was awarded 2K after settling myself. I worked for a large pub chain, I had my hours cut after taking time off with ds when he was ill, I'm a single mum and there was no one to look after him. I needed a week off as he had D&V so he couldn't go t nursery. Their claim was everyone's hours were reduced (despite it being christmas!), they gave false info to the tribunal as they submitted time sheets that were the wrong year to cover up what shifts I had been working. My solicitor dropped my claim the week before the tribunal as he had double booked himself, I was told to either settle for the £500 they offered or sort it out myself. I sorted it myself and managed to get 2K, which covered my backpay. I then did a law degree. An employment tribunal is nothing more then a slap on the wrist for them. Don't believe the 10-20K thing, the award is reduced if you have a new job etc. It's stressful but there is satisfaction in the end. Good luck.