Employment Tribunal Claims

Reasons for bringing Employment Tribunal claims

Employees bring Employment Tribunal claims for all sorts of reasons including:

• being dismissed in circumstances which was clearly unfair, or where a dismissal was a disproportionate response to the misconduct in question;
• being forced to resign following a discriminatory act by a fellow employee and/or manager; and
• resigning due to a breakdown in the working relationship. This might be due to a serious one-off incident; or from a culmination of seemingly minor incidents which, when taken in their entirety, constitute a repudiatory breach of contract.

Settlement

Even though an Employment Tribunal claim might seem to be next obvious step, a different approach may be more beneficial. Can the problem be resolved informally with a mediated solution and, if so, who’s the best person to deal with it?

Alternatively, if the working relationship has broken down irretrievably, is it sensible to start discussions leading to a Settlement Agreement with the employer by instigating a “protected conversation” which provides for ‘without prejudice’ negotiations in certain circumstances?

Employment Tribunal proceedings

Employment law claims cover a vast array of different statutory provisions each with their own nuances. While an individual will usually know when he’s been unfairly dismissed, there may be other less obvious statutory claims that can also be brought. A well drafted tribunal claim will hopefully contain a number of heads of claim, thereby increasing the pressure on employers to consider settlement.

Having issued an Employment Tribunal claim it will result in a hearing in a few months time.

While the Employment Tribunal process allows parties to represent themselves, the complexity of employment law makes the prospects of doing so daunting. Like Courts, Employment Tribunals operate with some degree of formality following their own rules and procedures. It is helpful, therefore, to have a understanding for an Employment Tribunals’ idiosyncrasies as a lack of familiarity can affect one’s confidence and presentation. Assistance from an experienced qualified specialist can help overcome these issues.

High Court litigation

Litigation in the High Court tends to arise from wrongful dismissal or bonus claims brought by former employees.  The flip side is employees having to defend claims – typically restrictive covenant disputes (e.g. springboard injunctions) and confidentiality breaches. These types of disputes tend to be extremely lawyer intensive, fast moving and, as a result, expensive. Specialist help is usually a prerequisite.



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