- Introduction
- Contract of Employment
- Disciplinary Procedures
- Employee Handbooks
- Redundancy
- Restrictive Covenants
- Unfair Dismissal
- Discrimination
- Equal Pay
- Maternity Leave
- Holidays
- Compromise Agreements
- Employment Tribunals
- Bringing a Claim
- The Claim
- Reply To The Claim
- ACAS
- Directions
- Hearings
- Remedies
- Review & Costs
- Press Articles
- Contact The Team
Directions
Directions are formal instructions given by the Tribunal to the parties setting out
certain steps to be carried out to progress the claim to a Hearing.
Directions are often given automatically by the Tribunal following receipt of a
Response Form. Depending on the case it may decide not to issue standard
directions but instead fix a date for a Case Management Discussion (CMD).
This often occurs in discrimination claims. The CMD helps to clarify the
important issues in the case and directions tailor made to the case can be
made. The parties are expected to attend the CMD although, occasionally, it
can take place by way of a telephone conference.
Directions usually consist of:
-
Other directions may be made in discrimination or equal pay cases or if the Tribunal considers others may be needed.
Preparation and exchange of a list of all documents in each party's possession or control, which are relevant to the issues in the case. Both parties can then ask to see copies of any documents on the other party's list. If either party fails to comply with this direction then the party making the request can ask the Tribunal to make an Order against the other party ordering them to comply. If they still fail to do so, in extreme cases the offending party can be fined, their Claim or Response Form can be 'struck out' (treated as if it had never been received by the Tribunal), or can be penalised with an order to pay the costs the other party has incurred in pursuing their request.
-Consideration of whether witness orders need to be issued. The Tribunal can order a witness to attend a hearing if he/she can give evidence which is relevant to the issues in the case and the witness will not (or cannot) attend voluntarily.
-Preparation and exchange of witness statements. Normally, if a person is to give evidence on behalf of either party, the party calling the witness should prepare a statement setting out the evidence which the witness will give. The statement should be signed by the witness and a copy sent to the other party in accordance with the Tribunal's direction. The statement will then form the basis of the witness' evidence to the Tribunal.
-Consideration of how long the case is likely to last and fixing the date for hearing