Workplace Report (July 2008)

Law - Tribunal procedures

Employment tribunals

This month’s cases include employer intimidation, grievance procedures, delays in judgements and wasted cost orders.

Employment tribunals —

The key developments

• An employment tribunal was right to ban an employer from a case after one of its witnesses intimidated the claimant (case 1).

• A grievance under the modified grievance procedure must explain the “who, what, when, where and why” the complaint has arisen (case 2).

• The time limit for an unfair dismissal claim was extended when the claimant reasonably believed a dismissal procedure was still being followed (case 3).

• A delay of three years before an employment tribunal delivered its judgment had deprived the claimant of his right to a fair trial (case 4).

• A wasted costs order should not be made against a legal representative on the grounds that their client had no reasonable prospect of success (case 5).

• Tribunals should not try to investigate a party’s mental capacity; any difficulties that may be the result of a mental illness should be dealt with through case management (case 6).

• An employment tribunal was right to strike out a claim which had been unable to proceed because of the claimant’s ill health when there was no likelihood of it being able to proceed in the near future (case 7).


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