Had response from former employer, denies everything!

[xxmissxx]

I have a tribunal to attend in two weeks. Had the response to the last claim against him this week, all the allegations iv put forward have been denied by former employer, even though i have written eveidence for most of my concerns. i have now one major problem, former employer has blamed my stress and depression at work due to my brother abusing me!

this is totally untrue, its that word "abusing" that get to me because, yes id told employer once id had an argument woth my bro that upset me, but sibling arguments do occur in every day life, but id hardly say my bro has abused me in anyway shape or form! it was very distressing to read and harrassing to say the least!

I just hate that word "abusing" it makes my brother sound so sinister and far from the caring decent person my brother actually is.

How will the tribunal act towards this allegation? it is totally untrue and is clear to me that former employer is just picking at straws as he hasnt got half as much on me as i have on him. can someone just enlighten me as to what can be now done about my employer bring my family into this dispute as im really not happy about it at all! its so disgusting.

[tiglet]

Hi there.

 

"Abusing" does sound like a very strong term for a family argument and you would be well within your rights to question him/have him questioned about this. If he has stated this is why, he would need to provide evidence.

 

What exactly has happened - we may be able to give some advice. Do you have representation or are you representing yourself?

[xxmissxx]

I do have representation, through legal aid. Although as good as my rep is it can be hard to contact them for advice, hense me asking on this site.Also i think third party perpective is worth asking for at this stage.

Right, to cut a long story short, i was dismissed from my job under the allegation of ignoring a customer, which i didnt, after two days under two years service, without notice or pay in leiu of notice.

whilst there though id suffered depression before and after i was sacked as my doctors confirmed in a letter for my bundle of documents, due to unfair discrimination from my manager. this guy was a nightmare and discriminated against me for sex and sexual orientaion, which our boss knew about but did nothing about it even after id asked him to twice. i was going to leave but then id got sacked whilst id just found out i was pregnant and had i found out while still working there i wouldve stayed on for maternity pay reasons, had i not been dismissed.I did an NVQ whilst working which wasnt supported by my employer and have a witness statement from nvq assessor to prove it.also have a witness to the sexual orientaion discrimination, being branded a slag etc.

His response has worked in my favour as i have said i have more on him so now hes picked at straws and exaggdurated this about a petty argument with my brother in saying he was abusing me, it makes it sound like my bro hit me or something, i think hes said it to make out that i found him approachable, so i shouldve told him about the dispute with my manager, because hes denied ever knowing about it, which isnt true, i informed him at least twice asking for help and he never did. my managers an evil man who went to punch me on a staff night out, accused me of giving him an STD (which escalated into a rumour started by him) which isnt at all true, and general name calling, he was paying other members of staff for their nvq's and not because he said "he didnt f***ing like me". so yeah quite a complex case but still this about my brother is the last straw, iv had enough now its been one hurdle after the other, im about to give birth in less than 7 weeks and this has effected me so much now, please help me get some decent perspective over this, as i cant just go to a proper lawyer i cant afford to being pregnant and on incapacity benefit. thanks for any replies guys much appreciated.

[tiglet]

Have you made your lawyer aware of what is being said and all that has proceeded this? what has (s)he had to say about your case.

 

I know it's hard not to worry, but legal-aid lawyers are qualified and do know the law. As I've said, your former employer would have to prove what he is saying - hearsay is not good enough. Has he requested that your brother is called as a witness?

 

I can fully appreciate it must be stressful when it is difficult to get through to your lawyer - perhaps a chat with his legal secretary may reassure you that he is aware what is going on?

 

I am pm-ing a mod (who will be most heartily sick of me by now) who is qualified in HR and knows an awful lot about these matters, so perhaps she can give you some other advice or reassurance.

[xxmissxx]

I actually managed to get hold of my lawyer today (the first time in nearly 3 weeks) they said that i shouldnt worry about what my ex employer has stated about my brother abusing me, they said that at tribunal, the chairman wouldnt see this as a necessity to my case so would not allow this to be brought into the cross examinations against me.

I still feel uneasy about that though because even though the tribunal can disagree that my brother be brought into all this, im not happy that he was ever mentioned in the first place! My brother has not been called as a witness, here is the exact quote written in this response iv had, check this out:-

"respondent is surprised to note that the claimants life at work was made intolerable.The respondent is aware that claimant had problems in home life as brother was abusive towards her, she often confided in these problems so she must of found the respondant to be approachable, but claimant did not say anything about dispute with manager"

Like i said, id hardly class an argument as any form of abuse, and hes denied ever knowing about my manager taunting me for almost a full year when id asked twice for him to sort this out.hes picking at straws but still surely this is a very wrong thing to put into a response, i would of thought his solicitor wouldve advised him not to use such words or slander.

[xxmissxx]

And for the record, i did not confide in the respondant like hes made out i have, far from it.

[Ell-enn]

Hi there, I understand why you are so upset about the response from your employer. However, it is perfectly normal for "the other side" to rake up anything they think will un-nerrve you and make you feel you want to withdraw from the case. Don't let statements which are untrue get to you -remember they will have to prove these events and if, as you say, they cannot - they are not going to win.

 

I think you may have mis-understood the statement that your brother was abusive towards you - I don't think they mean he abused you in the way you think. More likely they mean he shouted or argued with you. You need to concentrate on your wellbeing at the moment as you will be feeling more sensitive to things due to your condition.

 

It sounds as if your solicitor has the case well in hand and you should be guided by him. Just because he is a legal aid solicitor doesn't mean he is any less qualified than if you were paying a lot of money.

 

Try to stay positive about the things you can rely on at the tribunal and put things which are not relevant to the back of your mind. It will seem to you as if time is dragging and that your solicitor is not communicating with you, but that is normal when you are waiting around for something to happen.

 

Kind Regards

 

Ell-enn

[xxmissxx]

Ok, thankyou both for your advice, your right i have been a little emotional over all this lol.

well, ill take your advice and perservere this, the tribunals next week so theres no chance theyll get their way and have me back out, i have nothing to hide.

so sorry to sound a pain in the backside but one more piece of advice i would appreciate is, any tips for when im in the tribunal? Obviously because i have been a little stressed i dont want to mess this up so any tips thatll help id be grateful x

[Ell-enn]

Hi there, understandably you will be uncertain about the tribunal hearing itself.

 

Before the hearing a tribunal clerk will discuss with you the number of witnesses you have and collect any documents you may have brought for the tribunal.

 

The chairman will make sure that you follow the steps in a calm and measured way. However, he or she may have to be firm in moving the case on to make sure that it proceeds at a pace which allows it to be dealt with within the time set aside.

 

Generally in an unfair dismissal case the respondent will give evidence and call any witnesses first, while in a discrimination case the claimant will normally be first to give evidence followed by any witnesses. However, there is no absolute rule as to which side starts and this will be discussed with you before the hearing begins.

 

You and your witnesses will have to give evidence on oath or affirmation. If you lie after swearing an oath or affirmation you could be convicted of perjury. In England and Wales you may give evidence by reading a prepared written statement if you want. You or your witnesses can then be asked questions by the other side (this is called 'cross-examination'). You or your witnesses can then give further evidence to clarify matters which came up when being asked questions by the other side 're-examination'). Finally, the Chairman and members may ask some questions.

 

The same procedure is then usually followed for the other witnesses and then with the claimant. Once all the evidence has been heard, both sides can sum up before the tribunal retires to consider their judgment. Unless the tribunal 'reserves' its judgment, the chairman will announce the judgment at the end of the hearing. If the judgment is reserved you will receive it in writing at a later date. This may happen in complicated cases or if there is not enough time on the day of the hearing to come to and announce the judgment.

 

If the claim succeeds the tribunal will normally expect to deal with compensation issues at the hearing. The time set aside for the hearing will usually include time for this.

 

I hope this is helpful.

 

Kind Regards

 

Ell-enn

[xxmissxx]

this was helpful thankyou very much