Employment Tribunal - Hearings

Hearings

Prior to a hearing case management may take place to hand down directions as to how the full hearing will be heard. This can be by one of several means, either through correspondence between the parties and the Employment Tribunal or in a Case Management Discussion (CMD). An increasing number of Case Management Discussions take place by telephone.

The Employment Tribunals Rules of Procedure allow for several types of hearing:

(i) A Case Management Discussion; (this is used to clarify issues and determine the Directions for a case).

(ii) A Pre-Hearing Review (to determine the entitlement of a party to bring or defend proceedings), or an entitlement to Interim Relief (a form of preliminary finding in certain types of claim involving Trade Union activities or making a protected disclosure (whistleblowing), which may order a former employer to continue to pay a dismissed employee until a full hearing;

(iii) A Full Hearing (which may determine liability and/or remedy):

(iv) A Review Hearing (to re-consider a Judgment).

If the case proceeds to a full hearing, the case is heard, subject to certain exceptions, by a Tribunal of three people, a legally-qualified Employment Judge, and two lay members. The lay members use their employment experience in judging the facts. During the hearing the Employment Judge is under a duty to ensure that the hearing is conducted fairly, taking into account both sides' submissions on the law and facts. Generally witnesses are called for both sides with witness statements being supplied in advance. However Civil Court Procedure is different in Scotland where there is no provision for written witness statements. Each witness will give their evidence in chief orally.

A claim (or part of it) may be determined at a Pre-Hearing Review and a Judgment may be issued to either dismiss a case or to allow it to proceed to a hearing. Once a Judgment is issued in respect of a particular matter, that matter is determined and, subject to an appeal or a review, it cannot be re-opened.

One of the lay members should have experience from the employer's side of disputes and the other from the trade union movement. Sometimes the Employment Judge sits alone, for example, to hear preliminary legal arguments or in a case involving a claim for unpaid wages. The Employment Tribunals Rules of Procedure govern the circumstances in which an Employment Judge may sit alone.

A party bringing a claim does have the right to withdraw a claim by writing in to inform the Tribunal at any time, to bring the claim to an end. A withdrawal can be done verbally at a hearing. A party may still be liable for the other sides costs after a withdrawal.