What to expect at your Employment Tribunal Hearing
There are three main different types of Employment Tribunal
hearings. They are:
1. Case management discussions by telephone or in
person at a hearing centre
These are held normally to:
- clarify issues in the case such as how many respondents there
are or remedies sought;
- decide what orders should be made such as disclosure of
documents, if there are witnesses; and
- decide the time and length of the full hearing.
This hearing will normally be before an Employment Judge sitting
alone, or over the phone.
2.Pre-hearing review
These are held to:
- decide whether the claim or response should be struck out; this
could be because of missed time limits, not complying with
directions or just the case has no likely chance of success;
and/or
- decide questions of entitlement to bring or defend a claim; and
to establish if issues such as discrimination should continue and
on what basis; and/or
- decide, if either side's case appears weak, whether a deposit
needs to be paid and, if so, how much, before that side can go
ahead.
The letter giving you the hearing date will normally state the
reasons for the pre-hearing review and what must be decided. It is
likely that you will need to attend to give evidence at the
hearing. This hearing is normally held before an Employment Judge
sitting alone, but may also be held over the phone.
3.The final hearing
This is the main hearing that:
- decides if the claim is successful or not and, if it
succeeds,
- what remedy is awarded, and if there is any costs order if the
claim is unsuccessful.
This hearing will normally be conducted by an Employment Judge
and two non-legal members sitting together.