is this unfair?

[surreyguy]

Hi and thanks for your response.

 

Yes , at first the only thing my partner was asked to disclose was anything in her GP records which bore reference to her illness . Now they want EVRYTHING release.

 

We were also ordered to release hospital records which we have and i have to say , if we were concealing a drug problem then it would surely be apparent from the bundle of hospital notes...there sure was enough of them lol

[robbond55]

Hello there Surreyguy.

Any progress?

[surreyguy]

Hi Rob and everyone else.

 

As an update.

 

My partner's tribunal is due to start next next week and at the min is listed to run for 10 days.

 

After the Respondent being so hell bent on getting ALL medical notes , records and files release by my partner , they then flat out REFUSED to allow them to be included in the hearing bundle.

 

We of course objected to this and informed them that we were NOT in agreement with the content of the bundle and the option we now have is that on the first day of hearing we have to address the chairman to state that we request to include the medical records to the panel for consideration.

 

I have never heard of a disability discrimination case where medical notes ARE NOT used as evidence before !

 

Apart from that , every thing is trundling along as it should.

 

Will update next week as the case continues.

[honeybee13]

Hello again, thank you for the update.

 

I wish you and your partner the very best of luck next week and will be thinking of you. I hope the ET judge throws the book at these idiots.

 

My best, HB

[R&J]

Hi, can you explain the disrimination point, as I thought this was originally about Unfair Dismissal? Also it is worth nothing that if your GF has a new job, then the value of her UD claim is drastically reduced if she is earning anywhere near what she was on before.

[surreyguy]

Hi, can you explain the disrimination point, as I thought this was originally about Unfair Dismissal? Also it is worth nothing that if your GF has a new job, then the value of her UD claim is drastically reduced if she is earning anywhere near what she was on before.

 

 

Hi , yes i understand that her new job will affect any potential unfair dismissal payment.

 

The claim is for unfair dismissal AND disability discrimination .

[R&J]

Hi , yes i understand that her new job will affect any potential unfair dismissal payment.

 

The claim is for unfair dismissal AND disability discrimination .

 

What have you put in your ET1 regarding discrimination, and how has this been listed for 10 days?

 

I seem to remember that the UD point originally seemed fairly straightforward, and would probably have lasted no longer than a day. So 9 days for the discrimination point? ;-)

[surreyguy]

What have you put in your ET1 regarding discrimination, and how has this been listed for 10 days?

 

I seem to remember that the UD point originally seemed fairly straightforward, and would probably have lasted no longer than a day. So 9 days for the discrimination point? ;-)

 

 

Right from the holding of the first cmd , the case has been listed for 10 days .

 

The Respondents solicitor is calling 9 witnesses and states that it will take ONE whole day to cross examine each one !

 

Personally i fail to see how it could possibly take 10 days , im assuming that it WONT and right from the start i think the 10 days were requested by the respondents solicitor as a tactic to "scare us off" , by this i mean their solicitor probably thought that once we heard that this whole hearing was going to take up 10 days of our time then we would think "oh maybe i just dont want to do this after all..."

 

Not so im afraid ! Nothing going to make us back down lol.

 

You ask about discrimination , discrimination has been alleged by us since the very beginning of this case , its by no means something that we have added as an after thought , the ET1 was filled in to highlight the fact that we claim disability discrimination.

[R&J]

See my post below (double post)

Edited August 3, 2010 by R&J

[R&J]

Right from the holding of the first cmd , the case has been listed for 10 days .

 

The Respondents solicitor is calling 9 witnesses and states that it will take ONE whole day to cross examine each one !

 

Personally i fail to see how it could possibly take 10 days , im assuming that it WONT and right from the start i think the 10 days were requested by the respondents solicitor as a tactic to "scare us off" , by this i mean their solicitor probably thought that once we heard that this whole hearing was going to take up 10 days of our time then we would think "oh maybe i just dont want to do this after all..."

 

Not so im afraid ! Nothing going to make us back down lol.

 

You ask about discrimination , discrimination has been alleged by us since the very beginning of this case , its by no means something that we have added as an after thought , the ET1 was filled in to highlight the fact that we claim disability discrimination.

 

Can you elaborate on the discrimination point? On what grounds do you feel she has been discriminated against?

 

Have you thought about trying to settle this?

 

I doubt they are serious about doing a 10 day trial. It will cost £1000 per day for them to send a decent Solicitor to the tribunal, so it will be £10,000 alone in costs for them to run it at Tribunal.

 

They have probably spent several thousand defending this already. Have you done a Schedule of Loss, and if so how much have you valued it at?

[surreyguy]

At this late stage in the proceedings i dont really wish to delve into the discrimination matters . The jist of things is that we feel this whole matter came about owing to a situation within my partners workplace in the weeks prior to her drug test and subsequent dismissal .

 

My partner had on many occasions approached management regarding her illnesses (she has 2 very serious life long illnesses) and had asked them to make what we believe to be a reasonable adjustment to allow her to continue in her employment without disruption to her health.

 

Management flat out refused to allow these adjustments (WE HAVE THIS IN WRITING) .

 

As to your comment re settlement - its not our choice NOT to settle. The Respondents are fighting this all the way and are determinned that they have followed procedure to the letter . It is THEY who want to take this to hearing !

 

To be honest this whole matter is tiresome now , we would have settled a long time ago if they had admitted that the wrong result was acheived on the day of testing.

[surreyguy]

Schedule of loss is at £16k

[surreyguy]

R+J

 

If i remember correctly you are a solicitor /

 

You have lots of tribunal experience then ?

 

I have kind of reserved myself for this to go to the whole 10 day hearing , howevr in saying that , lots of people have made the same statement as you just have as in theres no way the respondent will WANT to actually pay legal fee's for that length of hearing....

 

I would love to turn up on the day and have them want to "discuss settlement" wow....

[R&J]

I can't comment on the discrimination point, but from what I remember the UD was, in my view, a strong case based upon what you originally posted on the forum.

 

Reference UD Tribunals are awarding up to a year future loss at the moment, in addition to current loss (loss from date of dismissal to date of hearing). Rack up the Schedule of Loss as high as you can, within reason, as if they look to settle it will give you negotiating room.

 

In regard to the value of the discrimination point this could be worth several thousand pounds, if not more...look at the Vento guidlines and make a call on how serious it is.

 

I would say that 80% of all cases settle. My feeling is they will push you all the way to the door and make an offer on the day. Just make sure it is a good one .

 

The cost of running a 10 day trial is phenominal, in addition to costs they have spent defending it so far. I can't see them wanting this to go on for anywhere near that long.

Edited August 3, 2010 by R&J

[surreyguy]

But just what is the point of that ? Whats the point in spending all that money defending the case UP TO THIS POINT only to offer to settle on the day of hearing ?

 

Personally , if i were the respondent and i had spent x amount on legal fee's then id go the last mile and see the hearing through !

 

I do however hope you are right lol

[robbond55]

I hope that the sentiments expressed by R&J are correct as my gut feeling is the same.

Hope it goes OK for you and I am sure I speak for everyone and look forward to the update when it's ongoing.

I am sure that it will be a weight off your mind when it finally gets underway anyway as you have been preparing so long for this day to come.

Our thoughts are with you!

[R&J]

But just what is the point of that ? Whats the point in spending all that money defending the case UP TO THIS POINT only to offer to settle on the day of hearing ?

 

Personally , if i were the respondent and i had spent x amount on legal fee's then id go the last mile and see the hearing through !

 

I do however hope you are right lol

 

People, particularly Respondents, get entrenched in their positions. The commercial reality of the litigation goes out of the window.

[robbond55]

Hi there.

All the best for this week - I am sure that you will le us know how you get on!

[surreyguy]

Hi there.

All the best for this week - I am sure that you will le us know how you get on!

 

Thanks Rob . It was good of you to remember . i will of course keep everyone posted .

 

Guy

[wheresmyhairgone]

Hi Surreyguy

I see that you are online, i have nothing to add but my good wishes.

 

GOOD LUCK

[surreyguy]

Hi Surreyguy

I see that you are online, i have nothing to add but my good wishes.

 

GOOD LUCK

 

Hi there.

 

I dont recognise your user name so im assuming you have been following my post . Im glad to see that people have been following and are offering suppot , i have to say , the support is very much appreciated !

 

My girlfriend is a bundle of nerves today but im fired up and ready to go lol .

 

Everything is prepared , we are organised , we have spent ages drafting a statement so at this point in time theres nothing else for us to do .

 

Of course support will be welcomed from all lol . and i will post up to let you all know how it goes .

 

Thanks again to everyone

[robbond55]

And if we don't hear anything more on this we can all guess they have approached to settle out of court on condition of you signing a confidentiality agreement!!!

[robbond55]

And if we don't hear anything more on this we can all guess they have approached to settle out of court on condition of you signing a confidentiality agreement!!!

 

Forgot to add - all the best once again!

[surreyguy]

hI ALL.

 

No offer of settlement was made on the first day of hearing im afraid.

 

We have just completed our second full day and in my own opinion things arent going too badly . It is nt as nerve wracking as i expected.

 

The judge is taking our non represented status into consideration and explaining things to us if he feels we are not understanding the process.

 

As mentioned before , the hearing was listed for 10 days , the judge has now recommended that the case be shortened to 5 days so it is expected to be finalised on friday of this week . This is a good thing for us !

 

As you will all know , its impossible to call things such as this , so im not going to give an opinion on which side is "ahead" lol.

 

I will report back to offer another update.

[honeybee13]

Hello. I'm pleased it's going OK. I'm not surprised they think the case will be shorter. I'm no expert, but 10 days sounded huge to me. Stay strong and logical, I wish you both all the best and hope you have a good outcome.

 

Thank you for letting us know.

 

HB x