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For personal injury claims of all types, including RTA and accidents at work, visit The Claim Group - a UK based compensation specialist .

For any issues with discrimination at work in Oxford or Aylesbury, visit Oxford Employment Law- Solicitors for Employers and Employees

Those on JSA get full remission from fees

The Government has published a paper outlining the new fee regime being introduced in the Summer. Those on JSA and those who have very low incomes will be exempt. There have also been announced ways of paying the fees online.

Go to this release and click on 2 'Notes to Editors' for the full response and scroll to the bottom for more details.

CMD agenda template

This is a decent CMD agenda document adopted by at least 3 tribunals but still a useful guide for preparation if no agenda has been set in your case.


AGENDA FOR
CASE MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION

Based on Rules 10-13, 17 and 28
Employment Tribunals Rules of Procedure 2004


Employment Tribunals Rules of Procedure 2004

It will assist the conduct of the Case Management Discussion if each party or representative could complete this agenda, as far as possible and as relevant to the case. Send a completed copy to each other party and to the Tribunal in good time before the Case Management Discussion. An agreed agenda is particularly helpful.


1. Parties

1.1
Are the names of the parties correct?



1.2
Should any person be joined as a respondent or party?


1.3
Should any respondent be dismissed from the proceedings?


1.4
Is this claim part of a multiple claim?



1.5
Are there any claims that should be considered together or separately?



2. The claim and response

2.1
What are the complaints or jurisdictions raised in the claim?



2.2
Is there any application to amend the claim?



2.3
Is there any application to amend the response?



2.4
Is there any request for additional information?



2.5
Has a statutory questionnaire been served and/or replied to (discrimination cases only)?

Is leave to serve a statutory questionnaire sought? Why?





3. Remedy

3.1
If successful, what does the claimant seek by way of remedy?



3.2
What is the value of the claim?



3.3
Has a schedule of loss been prepared?

Date for service?



3.4
What mitigation of loss has occurred?




4. The issues

4.1
What are the issues or questions for the Tribunal to decide?





4.2
Are there any preliminary issues or jurisdictional issues?












4.3
Are there any issues under the Human Rights Act or EU Law?





4.4
Should the parties or their representatives prepare a schedule of issues (to be approved by the Tribunal)?

Dates?


5. Preliminary hearings

5.1
Is a further case management discussion required? What agenda?
Time allocation? Dates?





5.2
Is a pre-hearing review required? What applications or issues?
Time allocation? Dates?






5.3
Is any other type of interim or preliminary hearing required?
What applications or issues?
Time allocation? Dates?




6. Documents and expert evidence

6.1
Have lists of documents been exchanged? Date for mutual exchange of lists?




6.2
Have documents been inspected or copies exchanged? Date for inspection or mutual exchange of copies?
for a preliminary hearing
for the Hearing




6.3
Who will be responsible for preparing
draft index of documents?
the hearing bundles?
Date for completion of this task?



6.4
Is this a case in which medical evidence is required?

Dates for
disclosure of medical records
agreeing any joint expert
agreeing any joint instructions
instructing any joint expert
any medical examination
producing any report
asking questions of any expert
making any concessions


6.5
Is this a case in which any other expert evidence is required? Relevant dates?


6.6
Are there any other disclosure requirements?

7. Witnesses

7.1
How many witnesses will each party call?

Who are those witnesses?

What is the relevance of their evidence?





7.2
Are any witness orders required?

Who are those witnesses?

What is the relevance of their evidence?


7.3
Should witness statements be prepared?

Should exchange be on the same date?

Dates for exchange?
for a preliminary hearing
for the Hearing











8. The hearing(s)

8.1
Time estimate for:
case management discussion
pre-hearing review
other preliminary hearing
Hearing






8.2
Dates to avoid (with reasons)



8.3
Hearing dates for:
case management discussion
pre-hearing review
other preliminary hearing
Hearing





8.4
Is there an application for a private hearing (rule 16)? Why?


8.5
Is there an application for a hearing (or part of one) via electronic communications (rule 15)? Why?



8.6
Is a restricting reporting order (rule 50) or register deletion order (rule 49) required? Why?



9. Other preparation

9.1
Should there be admissions?

Dates?


9.2
Should there be agreed facts?

Dates?


9.3
Should there be a chronology?

Dates?


9.4
Should there be any other agreed document to aid the Tribunal? What?

Dates?


9.5
Should there be written submissions or skeleton arguments?

Dates?


9.6
Is reading time for the Tribunal required? Why?


9.7
Does a party require further guidance on any matter of preparation?


9.8
Are any reasonable adjustments required?




10. Judicial mediation

10.1
Is this a case that might be suitable for judicial mediation?


10.2
Are the parties interested in the possibility of judicial mediation?


10.3
JUDICIAL USE ONLY
If relevant, Judge to consider whether criteria for judicial mediation apply and then raise with the parties and record response. If necessary, give a direction for a response. Refer to REJ, if appropriate

11. Any other matters


N/A

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New limits - this comes around quickly!

The new gross weekly pay limit and compensation cap, which will come into force on 1 February 2013, were announced last week.

The new gross weekly limit will be £450 (up from £430) and the new compensation cap will be £74,200 (up from £72,300).

The weekly pay limit applies to calculations of:
Statutory redundancy pay
Basic Award
Right to written particulars of employment
Right to be accompanied at a disciplinary hearing
Right to request flexible working
Award for failure by employer to comply with TUPE regulations
The limit does NOT apply to:
Rights during suspension
Right to written reasons for dismissal
in which cases the employee's actual gross weekly pay should be used in the calculation.

Rise above your fall: What to do if you have an accident at your place of work

Having an accident at work claim can be stressful for many reasons. You likely depend on your job as a steady source of income, and you can’t work if you’re injured. However, there are precautions you can take to prevent accidents, as well as information that will help you in the case of a serious accident. Are you wondering how you can rise above your accident woes? Just keep reading.

Before an accident happens

There are certain steps you can take as an employee to ensure your own safety at work, regardless of what industry you work in. First, if your company has a safety policy, it is a good idea to make sure that you know it well. If you have any questions or additional safety concerns, don’t hesitate to bring it up to your employer. There  could safety hazards that you encounter in the process of doing your job that he or she hasn’t considered.

You should also keep in mind the nature of your work when you consider how to prevent accidents. A construction worker and an office assistant, for example, face different dangers over the course of a normal work day, but a little foresight and caution can help each stay safe.

What you should expect from your employer

By law, your employer is required to have insurance that would cover any kind of accident claim brought against the company by current or former employees. Employers are also required to document any accidents that happen on the job. If you are involved in an accident, even if it is a small, seemingly insignificant incident, you should take care to make sure that your employer records it. This record can work in your favour in the instance that you experience symptoms that stem from an earlier accident because it can play a part in filing a claim for compensation.

Taking legal action

No matter who your employer is, you are guaranteed statutory sick pay if you meet the minimum requirements. Some employers also offer additional sick pay, though it isn’t legally obligated. And, if you suffer medical injuries from an accident that your employer is liable for, you can also seek compensation from the company. In order to do this, you will need to seek independent legal counsel.

Ultimately, the best way to sort out any possible accident claims is to work with your employer to stop an accident before it happens. And if you find yourself in need of legal counsel to file an accident claim, you should try to work with your employer afterwards to make a plan so that it never happens again.

Guest blog post on behalf of Irwin Mitchell

Can I chose my own lawyer under legal expense insurance?

As most of you know one of the staple ways which many employment cases are funded are via home contents insurance policies. Under most of these there is a clause which allows you to be funded right from the start to the end of your employment case, subject to a financial limit and subject to an employment lawyer assessing your claim (usually at over 55%).

There are certain elephant traps along the way:

Firstly look out for who assesses your merits, what are their credentials?

Secondly, don't be fobbed off easily if you disagree get another opinion from a Barrister

Thirdly, some policies suggest that you cannot chose your own lawyer. This is plainly wrong if the Financial Ombudsman is to be believed.

You can chose your own employment lawyer in 3 sets of circumstance:

1) It says so under your policy

2) Their is a conflict of interest

3) If you have started proceedings i.e if you chosen lawyer has submitted your ET1.


Please see :

The Ombudsman's site 

and on that site :


'(regulation 6 of the Insurance Companies (Legal Expenses Insurance) Regulations 1990 [SI 1159]) allows policyholders to choose their own solicitors.'

'These regulations are wide enough to include legal proceedings pursued and defended in tribunals – for example, employment tribunals – as well as proceedings in courts. '