A. No. The tribunal system is based on each side paying its own costs. Therefore if you lose you simply walk away with no damages.
A. There are, but it is very rare. If the tribunal thinks that you have totally invented the claim you might be ordered to pay their costs. Alternatively, if the tribunal told you that your case was hopeless and advised you to abandon it but you refused, they could order costs against you. However, while we are acting for you these things are unlikely to happen because we would not pursue your case if we thought you might lose. If you do lose, it will simply be because the tribunal choose to believe your opponent rather than you, but that does not mean you would have to pay costs.
We have never had a client ordered to pay costs!
A. A few clients prefer to pay us on an hourly basis. In other cases, where there is no tribunal and we are simply giving general advice, we charge by the hour. However, if we agree to act on a 'no win, no fee' basis and we lose the case we charge you nothing.
A. Reasons why we might have to charge you include failing to turn up for your tribunal after we had done all the work for you; deciding to abandon the case against our advice; choosing to change solicitors after we had been working for you. In such cases, we would simply charge you on an hourly basis for the work done up to that point. However, if we advise you to abandon the case because we think it is not strong enough, then we would not charge you. Our basic policy is very simple - 'no win, no fee'.
A. This is something we decide on a case by case basis. Our understanding and knowledge of your case grows as the weeks pass and as more information comes to light. We always keep you informed about our opinions on the strength of the case and we let you know where there are weaknesses or risks. We will only continue acting for you if we think your case has a reasonable chance of winning.
A. You will have to answer your opponent's questions and these can sometimes be aggressive. However, our job at the hearing is to protect you and to stop aggressive questioning from going too far. We also prepare you for the hearing by telling you the kind of questions you will be asked. We draft a detailed statement for you which says everything you would want to say without you having to remember it all. Most clients find the tribunal experience quite acceptable.
A. If things are terrible at work and you are being picked on there is a good chance that you may be able to justify leaving and pursuing a tribunal on the basis of constructive dismissal. However, you need to be very careful and you need to speak to us first. You could be badly criticised if you do not go through the company's internal grievance procedure by first making a complaint to senior management. We will help you do that.
Leaving your employment also means giving up your income and you should only do so if you feel you have to. Only walk out if you feel that you must, regardless of what may or may not happen at the hearing.
A. There is no easy answer to this. If you enjoy your job and feel that you could settle in again if you were reinstated, then you should appeal. However, if the process of being sacked has been so upsetting and if things are so awful that you could not face going back, it might be best not to appeal.
The downside to that is that you could be criticised, although the worst the tribunal can do is deduct two weeks pay from your damages for not appealing. The plus side is that an appeal can sometimes harm your case because the original dismissal was badly handled and the procedures were poor. If you appeal they could do it more skilfully second time round and put those things right. Alternatively, they could reinstate you but then start bullying you quietly and in ways that you can't prove, in order to drive you out of the job afterwards. We have seen this happen. The best thing is to call us to talk it through with us before you decide.
A. Don't worry too much. We very often have to go to tribunal with only the client and no witnesses at all. The tribunals understand this. Most witnesses, even your work friends, are very afraid of standing up on your behalf in case they get picked on. We know this and can work around it. Ideally we like witnesses, but if not we will still continue with your case.
Always call us or email us first and we'll help you decide what to do.