advice Archives - Page 38 of 45 - Employment Tribunal Claims

March 20, 2008advice

What is the law?

here are two sources of law in the employment tribunals. One is legislation: the law passed by Parliament. The other is case-law, some of which consists in the courts’ interpretations and explanations of legislation, and some of which is what is called ‘common law’ – law that doesn’t come from legislation at all, but has been developed over the years by the courts.

These are broad headings. They do not take into account the differences between Acts of Parliament and Regulations. Or deal with the significant role European legislation and case-law has on tribunals.

The point is that there is a lot of useful information out there that is not the law.

March 19, 2008advice

Preparing to return to the tribunal

by MichaelLeave a comment

Many appeal cases are not finally resolved by Employment Appeal Tribunal. So when running an appeal case, you need to consider the possibility of it returning to the tribunal. Lawyers often describe this as a case being remitted.

March 13, 2008advice

Costs threats

by NaomiLeave a comment

Respondents’ lawyers often say that they will apply for costs in the employment tribunal if the claim is not withdrawn or settled. Sometimes they say that they will apply for ‘up to £10,000,’ and sometimes they threaten even larger sums.

March 11, 2008advice

And / Or

by MichaelLeave a comment

A lot of legislation is in the form “Something will be true, in the following circumstances”. For example, Section 1 of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 begins “…a person discriminates against a woman if-“, then goes on to describe the situations that will be Direct Sex Discrimination.

Statutes, and the law they create, are often complex and these provisions can be difficult to understand. A common mistake is confusing circumstances linked by ‘and’ with those linked by ‘or’, and vice versa.

March 10, 2008advice

The water jug

by NaomiLeave a comment

There will be a water jug and some plastic cups on the table that you sit at when you present your case in the employment…

March 6, 2008advice

Don’t make faces

by MichaelLeave a comment

You will often see people in tribunals responding to what a witness or litigant is saying.

They may raise their eyebrows; roll their eyes; suck their teeth; make the sound ‘tsk’; sigh deeply, grimace horribly or some combination of these and other things.

February 27, 2008advice

Waiver of privilege

by Naomi5 Comments

Employers can be careless about accidentally waiving privilege. If they mention the legal advice that they have received in their witness statement, they may have waived their legal professional privilege and given you the chance to demand to see the advice.

February 19, 2008advice

“Answer yes or no!”

by NaomiLeave a comment

Sometimes when you ask a simple factual question, the witness doesn’t seem to want to answer it at all.

February 14, 2008advice

Don’t pounce too soon

by NaomiLeave a comment

Sometimes, when you are cross-examining a witness, you get an answer that you are very pleased with: for example, if you want to discredit the witness, you will be delighted if he says something that be refuted by a document in the bundle. But try not to look too much like a cat pouncing on a mouse.

February 4, 2008advice

Paragraph Numbering

by MichaelLeave a comment

Most legal documents are written with numbered paragraphs. For example:

Mr Smith worked for Grindles Ltd as an assembler. He was employed between 21st September 1998 and 3rd December 2007.

In September 2007 Mr Smith began experiencing difficulties with his left leg, which affected his mobility. His GP diagnosed him with early onset arthritis and referred him to a specialist consultation, Dr Hobbs.