The Respondent deliberately delays disclosure

[Lolas Cat]

Good evening fellow CAGgers,

 

I have the following problem.

I have a pending Employment Tribunal hearing in some 1.5 months and now it is a disclosure phase.

The Respondent tries whatever they can in their powers (via a representative) to delay the disclosure.

 

They gave me estimate for delivering the requested documents which was far beyond the date the ET Judge set for agreeing on the bundle. Also, I cannot be sure that they will give me all the docs I requested, they are saying they will first establish the relevance of those to the case.

 

What can I do to force them to disclose the documents quicker? Otherwise I may lose valuable preparation time and it will delay the preparation of my witness statement.

Shall I go and apply for a disclosure order directly?

 

many thanks.

[steampowered]

Is there any way to accomodate this by changing the other deadlines, without affecting the trial date? For example, by changing the deadline for agreeing on the bundle and/or the deadline for exchanging witness statements?

[Lolas Cat]

Hi steampowered and thanks for your answer.

 

It is not really possible without rescheduling the date for the hearing I am afraid.

There are xmas holidays, so it will delay the things even more.

And then nothing guarantees me that when they finally come with the docs, something will be missing and I will have to apply for a disclosure order.

In fact, I am almost certain it is going to happen. A usual trick for employers and their representatives.

I cannot accept it, I will be left without sufficient evidence at the trial.

[steampowered]

What documents are you hoping to receive? Would it work if they provided you with an assurance that the particular documents you are interested in will be provided?

 

If you apply for a disclosure order it is normal that they will at least be granted some sort of extension. It is sensible to agree an extension though there can be horse-trading over how long and how other deadlines will be affected.

[Lolas Cat]

Steampowered,

 

How much extension do you think ET can grant them?

I do not think they will deliver everything I asked because they said they'd need to assess the "releavance" (more like the degree of disadvantage) of this documents once they found them.

[steampowered]

The length of extension depends on (1) the reason for the delay, (2) how much leeway there is to delay disclosure without affecting the trial date, (3) the mood of the judge on that particular day.

[Sidewinder]

And how 'relevant' are the document to your case? That is for you to decide and you alone, and if they are holding back on items that you know or reasonably believe that they exist, and if you can link them directly to your case, then give an ultimatum. They disclose by a specific deadline, or you will be forced to apply for an order to disclose. Tell them exactly what you need and when.

[Lolas Cat]

Sidewinder,

 

They seem to think that their definition of "relevance" overrides mine.

 

Steampowered,

 

Thanks for the explanation.

[Sidewinder]

But they will not have seen your Witness Statement yet, so how on earth can they determine the relevance of a particular document to your claim? I would remind them of that when you give them the deadline for disclosure of ALL items that you have asked for, and state that those items are necessary for your case.