Employment tribunals — how to complete an Agenda for Case Management form and prepare for the preliminary hearing

This article was originally published by Matt Bradbury in the July 2017 issue of Adviser magazine and was correct at the date of publishing. It has been subsequently amended by Simon Tingle to take account changes to the Case Management Agenda form brought in on 01 November 2024.

In most complex employment tribunal claims, there will be at least one preliminary hearing before the final Hearing.

There are two types of preliminary hearings:

• public preliminary hearings at which the tribunal will hear evidence and legal argument in order to determine a separate legal issue that can be separated from the main part of the case, and
• private preliminary hearings whose function is to do no more than make sure that both parties are cooperating with one another and with the tribunal in order to ensure that the case is prepared properly for a full Hearing. Typically, once it has established how the case should be prepared, the tribunal will send out a set of instructions, or ‘directions’, giving the parties a clear timetable to follow before the full hearing. Private preliminary hearings can be described as case management hearings or case management discussions.

In less complex cases the tribunal will usually not hold a case management hearing, and will issue some standard written instructions or directions about case management when the notice of final hearing is sent out to the parties.

In more complex claims of unfair dismissal and in discrimination claims, the tribunal is more likely to hold a case management hearing. The parties are required to attend so that the tribunal can:

• establish what claims and defences are being made by both sides; and
• issue instructions to both parties about how it expects them to prepare the case for future hearings.

Because no evidence will be heard, no findings of fact made and no judgments issued, case management hearings are conducted in private. They are presided over by an employment judge sitting alone, either at a tribunal office or via a telephone or remote video hearing. Typically they last no more than one or two hours. The parties are expected to talk cogently about the legal basis for their claim or defence, and what evidence is likely to be relevant. Of course this can be difficult for people who are representing themselves and who have little knowledge of the law or of tribunal procedures — particularly if the other side has legal representation.

Preparation is key

The importance of being well prepared and attending a case management meeting cannot be underestimated. Case management hearings provide an excellent, early opportunity to show the tribunal and the other side that you mean business, that your case is well-founded and that you have an understanding of the law on which your claim is based and the facts you will be required to prove. They provide the best chance you’ll get to put right any defects in a case that has been badly pleaded, for example by a claimant who issued it without any legal advice.

If the other side gains control of the case at this stage, it can be difficult for the claimant to take it back. The other side will seize on any gaps in the factual allegations or legal arguments made in the claimant’s ET1 form, to try to limit the scope of the claim. If a claimant or their representative is not there to argue otherwise the tribunal is likely to be persuaded to concede to the other side’s arguments.

The case management hearing also allows you, as the claimant or their representative, to request any amendments that are necessary; for example to correct the respondents name, add new claims or change the legal basis of the claim. If you don’t do this at the hearing with the other side present to make submissions, it will be harder to do so in future.

If you are planning to request an amendment, and if there is time to do so, give the other side notice of your intention before the day of the case management discussion; it’s polite and will allow them to prepare a response.

Once the issues in the case have been clarified and put on a firm footing, the tribunal will go on to issue a set of instructions or directions to the parties about how it expects the case to be conducted going forwards. Instructions or directions are often formalised as ‘Orders’ of the tribunals, which must be followed. Often an Order will set out the consequences of a party not complying which can be very serious, such as the striking out of a claim or defence. These are sometimes called ‘unless’ Orders; ‘Unless you do x, y will happen.’

For this reason, if you feel that you cannot realistically comply with an instruction, direction or Order, whether at all or in the time frame proposed by the tribunal, you should not agree to do so, and should ask the tribunal to vary its instructions, for example by giving you more time to comply.

The Agenda for Case Management and the new ‘Portal’ System

When it sends out a notice of hearing for the private preliminary hearing, that is, the case management hearing, the tribunal should include a copy of a standard form, ‘Agenda for Case Management at Preliminary Hearing’ (CMA).

At the time of writing, the Tribunal Service’s ‘portal’ system is now the default method by which tribunals and parties will communicate on cases and manage case documents. Either your client or your organisation will receive an electronic notification that the CMA form is available to be filled in on the ‘portal’ — it depends on whether it was the claimant or the organisation representing the claimant that registered the claim on the portal in the first place. If you are new to this system, the following information will help:

• The MyHMCTS portal is for professionals who are representing parties to use. Users must first set up an account with the system before they can use it. An instruction video can be found here.
• The “CitizenUI” portal is for litigants-in-person (claimants representing themselves) and can be found here. An instruction video can be found here.

If, for some reason, you or the client do not receive access to a CMA form from the tribunal you should request a copy from the tribunal or obtain one yourself and work through it. An up-to-date version may be found here. Note: the Completing it will focus your mind on the case and prompt you on all of the matters which will be discussed at the hearing, and doing so may help obtain the tribunal’s consent to hold the hearing over the telephone, if that is your preferred option. Once completed, it should be sent to the tribunal and to the other side within the time limit specified by the tribunal; the CMA form has a deadline of 7 days before the hearing, but the tribunal judge may specify a different deadline. But if you miss this deadline for some reason, send it anyway, ensure you have a copy with you at the hearing, and be prepared to explain the reason for the delay.

When completing the form, it’s useful to read the third Presidential Guidance on General Case Management for England & Wales, (there is a separate version for Scotland). This is a good, understandable guide to employment tribunal case management. The other side will be asked to complete the same form from their perspective. Tribunals expect and encourage the parties to talk to one another, to explore and agree their responses in order to save tribunal time. If you take this approach you may be surprised at the high level of agreement between you and the other side about what the issues are which are to be determined by the tribunal, and what needs to be done by both sides to prepare for the final hearing; any disagreements are likely to be about in whose favour the issues will be decided, rather than what the issues are. If you know where there is agreement, you can focus your case preparation efforts on areas where there is disagreement.

Working with the other side to identify the issues and reach agreement, if this is possible, opens the door to better and easier litigation generally. While an employment tribunal claim is adversarial, representatives on both sides also have a duty to the tribunal to conduct the case well. As professionals, they can and should work together in service of that duty and reach agreement via verbal or written communication where possible. Agreement may not be possible if the other side is unrepresented, the case is particularly contentious or the other side’s representatives are hostile. If agreement can’t be reached on what the issues are, it’s important to act reasonably at all times, but to stand your ground.

The standard form — how you should complete it

What follows is the text of the standard form, with suggestions for how best to complete it. The questions on the form are in bold, and guidance in plain text.

Case Management Agenda

You must fill in the table below and send a copy to the other side and the Tribunal at least 7 days before the preliminary hearing. Try to agree on the contents with the other side first if you can.

Some sections may not be relevant in your case. Leave those blank. Don’t worry if you don’t know what to write. The Judge will discuss it with you at the preliminary hearing.

The Welsh language version of this form can be found at this link:

**https://www.judiciary.uk/guidance-and-resources/employment-rules-and-legislation-practicedirections/**

1. Your details

1.1 What is the case number?

The tribunal will have given your case a reference number, which will be at the beginning of all their communications.

1.2 Are you completing this for the claimant or the respondent…?

Write “The claimant”.

1.3. Do you wish to make the judge at the preliminary hearing aware of any vulnerability or disability?

You may wish to inform the tribunal of a disability or health condition that the claimant may have, which the tribunal could make some kind of adjustment for. For example, a mental health issue that makes it particularly difficult for the client to concentrate: the tribunal could be asked to take extra time to explain matters to the client in very plain language.

If you do record anything here, make sure to be specific as to what condition the claimant has, how it can affect their ability to take part in and understand the hearing, and how the tribunal could assist. Merely stating that the claimant is “neurodivergent” or “on the autism spectrum” won’t give the tribunal much of a chance to assist. The Equal Treatment Bench Book provides guidance to courts and tribunals as to how they can assist litigants with such matters. See the examples of simplified language on page 71.

1.4 Do you need an interpreter at the preliminary hearing? Which language?

Respond as necessary.

2. Claimant and respondent

2.1 Are the names of the claimant and respondent(s) in this case correct? If the respondent is a company, its name should usually end “Ltd” or “plc”. Please confirm the correct legal name and, if possible, the company number.

Any respondent named on the ET1 requires an Acas early conciliation certificate in the same name. If there is a discrepancy between the certificate and the ET1, this may be overlooked in the interests of justice, if it amounted to a minor error, but may also lead to the rejection of the ET1 and the need to apply for a reconsideration of that decision to reject.

If the same respondent is wrongly named in early conciliation and on the ET1, so that the claim was accepted, the claimant is able to apply for an amendment to the claim, so as to add or substitute the correct respondent, subject to the tribunal’s discretion.

The respondent must be a legal entity, either a person, a group of persons, or an incorporated or limited company. The trading name of a sole trader or limited company is not a legal entity. Tribunals are fairly flexible about amending corporate names where it is clear that the claim has been served on the wrongly named respondent, who has been aware of proceedings from the outset; it can be more difficult to add an entirely new respondent who has had no prior knowledge of the claim.

2.2 Should any person be added or removed as a respondent? If so, why?

You might want an additional respondent to be added, and one or more respondents might want to be removed from the case. When deciding whether to allow this, the judge will expect the claimant to provide reasons for not having named the additional respondent from the outset.

3. The claim and response

3.3 What are the complaints in the claim form (claims) brought? If any are withdrawn, say so.

Here you should just give the titles of the claims, for example: ‘unfair dismissal’, ‘wrongful dismissal’, ‘unauthorised deductions from wages’, or “discrimination”.

3.4 Is the claimant withdrawing any of the complaints in the claim form? Which ones?

Where the client has completed the claim form before seeking specialist advice and has made claims under several legal grounds, you may agree with the claimant that some of the claims listed are best not pursued, either because they have a poor chance of success or are of such a low value they are not worth pursuing. If so, here is the place to inform the tribunal that some claims are being dropped.

3.5 Is the claimant applying to amend the claim?

If so, they must write here or on a separate page exactly what they want the amended claim to say.

As mentioned above, the law on applications to amend a case is complex, and will be covered in a separate article. It is harder to add new facts to a claim than to change the legal ‘label’ attached to the facts that have already been pleaded.

Paras 3.6, 3.7 and 3.8 are for the respondent.

3.9 Does the claimant need the respondent to explain the response more clearly or in more detail? If so, they must write here exactly what questions they need the respondent to answer.

You might want to ask the respondent for additional information about its defence of the claim as given in the ET3. You’re not asking for evidence, just for enough information for you to understand the basis of the respondent’s defence. For example, a respondent might say, “We are not liable for a redundancy payment because there was a relevant transfer under the TUPE Regulations 2006.” A request for additional information might be, “Please state specifically, with reference to the 2006 Regulations, why you say that the events of February 2017 fell within the legal definition of a relevant transfer.”

If the ET3 says; “A decision was made to…” you might ask, “Please state the names of every person who made or was involved in making the decision to… and on what date(s).”

4. Remedy

4.1 If there is an unfair dismissal claim which succeeds, does the claimant want to go back to work for the respondent in the same job (“reinstatement”) or in an equivalent job (“reengagement”)?

You need to discuss this question with the client and get an answer. If a claim of unfair dismissal succeeds the tribunal has the power to order the claimant be given their job back. Typically, (for reasons which are usually obvious!) claimants do not want to return to their old job and the answer to this question is “no”.

4.2 If the claims succeed, and the claimant does not go back to work for the respondent, how much money is the claimant asking for as compensation?

You should put the total compensation sought here, if possible. Being ‘realistic’ means understanding the principles on which compensation is awarded for the claim(s) you are bringing. If you’re unable to calculate likely levels of compensation, you should seek further advice.

4.3 Has the claimant sent the respondent details of how that has been calculated (a “schedule of loss”) ?

A Schedule of Loss is a detailed statement of how much compensation is being sought, and how that figure has been calculated. If you have completed one, you should take it to the case management hearing. If you have been unable to do so, the tribunal is likely to order you to prepare one within set time limits after the hearing.

4.4 Has the Claimant started new work? If yes, When?

This is important in cases where the claimant is claiming loss of earnings and has to show mitigation of loss. The Schedule of Loss must offset income received against loss of earnings.

5. The Issues

5.1 What issues or questions will the Tribunal need to decide at the final hearing of the claim?

Only fill this box in if you are legally represented. If you are not, the Judge will deal with this at the preliminary hearing. A key purpose of case management is to finalise the list of issues to be decided.

The list of issues defines which claims can and cannot be pursued. If a claim is not set out in the List of Issues it is unlikely a tribunal will allow it to be pleaded at a later date. This means that influencing the content of the List of Issues can determine the success or failure of a claim, so it is vital that the claimant influences its contents. Although the form states that you should only provide a list of issues if you are legally represented, if you are getting professional legal help in completing this form, it would be sensible to provide a list. It will help the judge draw up a list at the preliminary hearing, and also guard against the respondent influencing the final list of issues in their favour.

For detailed guidance on how to create a list of issues for every kind of discrimination claim see Adviser Online article “How to create a list of issues for a discrimination claim”. The article contains a template ‘List of Issues’ document that you can download and personalise to your particular case.

In any claim, there will be both factual and legal issues. Your answer should focus on the legal issues.

The factual ‘issues’ are the factual matters about which the claimant and respondent disagree. For example, if both parties agree that the claimant was dismissed on a certain date, that is not a factual issue between the parties. But, if the claimant says they were dismissed and the respondent that they resigned, that is a factual issue for the tribunal to hear evidence on and determine.

If the claim goes to a final hearing considerable time will be saved if the parties can work to a set of agreed facts, in order to focus on facts that are not agreed and so are ‘in issue’. Often, at the case management discussion, the tribunal will direct the parties to work together to create a schedule of agreed facts. Rather than set out the factual issues here, suggest that the tribunal orders the parties to produce a schedule of agreed facts, in the form of a chronology setting out uncontested dates.

The legal ‘issues’ are the legal tests, or questions, that a tribunal must ask itself in a particular case, and then determine the answers, having heard all of the evidence and legal arguments.

Identifying the legal issues can be difficult if you’re unfamiliar with what is being asked of you. It does not necessarily require you to refer to the specific sections of legislation under which a claim has been brought, but you must have the relevant legislation in front of you, and draw out from its wording the key legal tests or questions. Some examples follow.

Example one: issues in an ordinary unfair dismissal claim

• Was there ‘a dismissal’?
• If there was, has the respondent shown a potentially fair reason for the dismissal — i.e. capability, conduct, redundancy, some other substantial reason, etc
• If it has, was the dismissal actually unfair? That is, did the respondent, in the circumstances of this particular case, act reasonably or unreasonably in treating that potentially fair reason as sufficient reason for dismissing the claimant?
• If it was, what remedy or compensation should be ordered?

Example two: issues in a disability discrimination claim

Reasonable adjustments

• At the relevant times, was the claimant a disabled person within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010. That is, did the claimant have a mental or physical impairment that had a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities?
• If the claimant was disabled, did the employer fail to make reasonable adjustments, that is:
• Was there a provision, criterion or practice of the employer’s?
• What was it?
• In what way did it put the claimant at a particular disadvantage in comparison with persons who did not have an impairment such as the claimant’s?
• What steps was it reasonable for the employer to have to take to avoid that disadvantage?
• Did the employer take those steps?
• At the relevant time, did the respondent know, or could it have been reasonably expected to know, that the claimant had that impairment with that effect, and that the claimant was placed at the disadvantage claimed?

Discrimination arising from disability

• If the claimant was disabled, did the respondent treat them unfavourably because of something arising in consequence of their disability? Specifically: i) What was the “something” that arose from the claimant’s disability?; ii) What was the unfavourable treatment?; iii) Was the claimant subjected to that treatment because of “something” that arose from the claimant’s disability?
• If so, was that treatment a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim?
• At the relevant time, did the respondent know, or could it have been reasonably expected to know, that the claimant had that impairment with that effect?

Remember that at the case management discussion, the tribunal is not asking you to say what the answers to these questions are, just to identify the questions. The employment judge will not hear evidence or expect you to make complex legal submissions. However they are likely to ask you to say what your case is, in relation to particular aspects of the case. It’s incredibly useful to be prepared to talk about your client’s case in this way.

For example, where the issue is whether the claimant is a disabled person, the tribunal may ask you to state:

• The nature of the claimant’s impairment
• What is the substantial adverse effect on normal day to day activities?
• What was the duration of that effect?
• List the acts by the employer that are alleged to be the ‘unfavourable treatment’ being complained about
• How is it alleged that these acts were ‘because of something arising in consequence of the claimant’s disability? What arose in consequence of the claimant’s disability, and how did the employer’s actions relate to that?

In light of this, it’s useful to prepare a document for your own use only at the case management discussion. Create a table with two columns. Set out the legal issues or questions in column A and, in column B, set out your own case on the answers to those questions.

For example, if one of the issues is, “Is the claimant a disabled person” the judge might ask you, “What do you say about that? What is your case on whether the claimant is disabled?” In column B, your planned answer might be: “We are saying yes, the claimant is disabled, and will show that her impairment, severe depression, had lasted for 12 months at the time of the events in question, and will show that the effect of her impairment did have a substantial (‘more than minor or trivial’) adverse effect on her normal day-to-day activities.”

If one of the issues is, “Was the claimant treated unfavourably because of something arising in consequence of her disability?” the judge might ask: “Please can you state precisely, or list, the actions of the employer on what date(s) that you say amounted to unfavourable treatment and explain why you are saying they were because of something that arose in consequence of her disability.”

6. Deposit order

6.1 Are you asking the Judge at the preliminary hearing to make a deposit order because part of the claim or response has little reasonable prospect of success?

If yes, why?

The purpose of a deposit order is to discourage parties from making claims that are unrealistic. When a deposit order is made one of the claimant’s allegations is identified as having little reasonable chance of success. The claimant is then obliged to either withdraw that claim, or to pay a sum of money to the tribunal, which they will only get back if that particular claim succeeds. It is possible, (but rare) that a claimant could ask the tribunal to make a deposit order for a defence argument made by the respondent. For more on this issue seek specialist advice.

7. Privacy

7.1 Is there any application for an anonymity or similar order under Employment Tribunal Rule 50? Why? If so, the Judge may decide it at the preliminary hearing. You must send in any evidence in support of your application before the preliminary hearing.

Rule 49 deals with evidence being heard in private, for example where it concerns sensitive medical evidence or allegations of sexual misconduct, also with restricted reporting orders, and orders for anonymisation of a party in any public records of the case. For more on this issue seek specialist advice.

8. Further preliminary hearings

8.1 Should any of the issues in the claim be decided at a further preliminary hearing? Which?

In most cases no, unless it is a very complex case. However, the tribunal may call a further case management discussion if it looks as if the case management and preparation is drifting off course.

If any of the legal issues are such that it would be appropriate to deal with them separately at a preliminary hearing, the tribunal may decide to do so, of its own motion or on the application of one of the parties. For example, clarification of the claim or defence might lead to a further preliminary hearing to consider strike out or a deposit order.

Tactically it is often better for the claimant to have any preliminary issues decided either at the start of, or during, the final hearing. For example: issues about time limits and whether there has been a continuing act of discrimination, or about whether the claimant is disabled. From a settlement perspective, a respondent may be more likely to settle where it is faced with bearing the cost of preparation for a final hearing, including the preliminary issues, because it has been unable to attempt to dispose of the case with a knock-out blow at a preliminary hearing. One valid reason for arguing against a separate preliminary hearing is to say (if it is true!) that the findings of fact that the tribunal must make to determine the preliminary issue and the main issues are so intertwined that it makes no sense and serves no purpose to try and separate them.

8.2 Should there be a further preliminary hearing to consider striking out any part of the claim or response? Which part? Why?

It is usually the respondent who is likely to ask that some part of the claim be struck out. However, there may be circumstances when the defence to a claim is so poor that it would be good practice for the claimant to ask that the tribunal strike it out at an early stage. This could occur when they have clearly got the law wrong. An example would be an employer who is defending a disability victimisation claim argues that the claimant was not disabled at the date the discrimination occurred: a victimisation claimant does not have to possess the relevant protected characteristic, they just need to show that the victimisation occurred because they did a “protected act”.

No 8.3 does not require a response.

9. Documents and evidence

Each party will need to send to the other party a list of documents which they hold and which are relevant to the issues.

9.1 Do you want to receive documents from the other side as hard copies (paper) or electronic copies (pdf)?

Answer as appropriate.

9.2 Do you want to send documents to the other side as hard copies (paper) or electronic copies (pdf)?

Answer as appropriate. The default is to send electronic copies.

9.3 By what date should the respondent send their list of documents and copies of documents?

9.4 By what date should the claimant send their list of documents and copies of documents?

It is permissible to write: “Date for exchange to be determined at the preliminary hearing”. From the list of documents, any duplicates can be weeded out and an agreed set of documents created. Each party will then supply the other side with documents it does not yet possess. Usually this will be done by collating a final ‘bundle’ of agreed documents, rather than in separate batches.

9.5 Who will be responsible for preparing the file of documents/bundle for the final hearing?

The standard set of documents will be used to create an indexed and paginated bundle for use at the final hearing. This can be a time consuming process. Judges will usually ask the respondent to prepare the bundles, because they are far more likely to have the resources to do so than the claimant.

9.6 By what date should the file/bundle be sent to the other side?

It is permissible to write: “Date for exchange to be determined at the preliminary hearing”. The date by which the final bundle is to be prepared should, if possible, be in good time before witness statements are to be exchanged, for the reasons set out below.

9.7 Should it be a hard copy or a pdf copy?

Answer as preferred, but given that the default these days is for electronic versions of documents, if you ask for hard copies you may have to give a reason. This may be because the claimant lacks IT skills and would not be able to manage electronic documents. However, if you are representing the client at the hearing, the expectation may be on you to deal with such practicalities.

9.8 Will expert medical evidence be needed at the final hearing? Why?

Medical evidence will usually be required where:

• There is a dispute about whether the claimant is a disabled person.
• Where the claimant is claiming damages for a personal injury caused by an act of discrimination.
• where the respondent is claiming that any compensation should be reduced, because the claimant failed to mitigate their loss, and failed to seek or find alternative employment due to a condition or injury that was not caused by them.

9.9 Should there be a joint medical expert?

Where the respondent argues that medical evidence from the claimant’s own medical personnel is inadequate, further reports from a consultant, or disclosure of the claimant’s medical records, might be ordered. If that further medical evidence is challenged, the tribunal may order the parties to agree upon, and jointly instruct, a neutral medical expert to examine the claimant, write a report and possibly give evidence at a hearing. The claimant will be expected to share the cost of this.

Seek more advice on this, as appropriate. It is usually preferable for the parties to agree on one “joint” expert. If you cannot get advice on this in time, simply write: “To be determined”.

9.10 If you are legally represented, what orders should be made to instruct the joint expert?

It is permissible to write here: “To be determined at the preliminary hearing”.

10. Witnesses

10.1 Name each person you intend to call as a witness on your side at the final hearing and say briefly what each person will give evidence about. The claimant will need to give evidence and might be the only witness on their side.

You should be prepared to state the number of witnesses that will be giving evidence for the claimant — not forgetting, of course, the claimant themselves! In a straightforward unfair dismissal case with evidence from the claimant and two witnesses from the respondent, usually a day is enough. In a more complex unfair dismissal claim, or discrimination claim, assume about 3 days. If the claimant will be relying on pro bono representation, remember that the more witnesses they call, the longer the hearing, and the less likely it will be picked up by a volunteer representative. Beware the respondent tactic of saying they will call numerous witnesses to artificially lengthen the hearing and make it more difficult for the claimant to get representation. Ask the tribunal to question the respondent on the relevance of their intended witnesses’ evidence.

10.2 Should the claimant and respondent exchange their witness statements on the same day or should one side go first?

10.3 What dates should witness statements be exchanged or sent?

Witness statements should be exchanged simultaneously so that neither side has sight of the other side’s statements before they finalise their own. It’s recommended that there should be an exchange of statements at least 7 days, but probably 14 days, before the hearing, so that you or the claimant can prepare cross-examination questions for the other side’s witnesses.

When preparing the witness statements for the final hearing, you should remember that the tribunal will not read through the entire bundle of documents put together for the hearing. If you want the tribunal to take particular documents into account, you’ll need to ‘take them to’ the relevant pages in the bundle. The best way of doing this is to insert the page numbers from the bundle into the witness statements, and so the timetable for case preparation should require that documents are exchanged and the hearing bundles finalised before you have to prepare and exchange witness statements.

10.4 Should they be sent as hard copies or pdf copies?

As per above, the default form of documents is electronic not hard copies.

11. The final hearing

11.1 Could you attend a hearing by video if necessary? You need somewhere to take part in the hearing uninterrupted between 9.30am and 4.30pm, a good internet connection and a computer or laptop.

11.2 Do you have any preference about attending a hearing in person or by video? Why?

Bear in mind that most cases reach a settlement before the final hearing stage ever takes place. Nevertheless, you should discuss with your client whether they could attend remotely.

11.3 How long do you think the final hearing will last?

This will depend on the complexity and size of the case. The length of the final hearing will typically depend on: a) the size of the factual allegations — a large amount, spanning several years and involving multiple individuals and events, will take a long time; b) the number of witnesses who are to give evidence; c) the quantity of supporting documents.

If you are not sure, you can simply state: “To be determined at the preliminary hearing”.

11.4 Is a separate hearing needed to decide about compensation or other remedy? Why?

In an unfair dismissal claim, the respondent will give evidence first, unless the respondent disputes that there was a dismissal, in which case the claimant will go first. In a constructive dismissal claim or a discrimination claim, the claimant’s evidence will be heard first. If the claim involves unfair dismissal and discrimination, get clarification about who will go first, so that the claimant is prepared. If any proposed witnesses are only available for one day of a multiple day hearing, request that they give their evidence on a specific day and be released after they’ve done so

11.5 Would you prefer to have your case heard by (a) a judge alone or (b) a judge with two nonlegal members? You do not have to express a preference but if you do, please give brief reasons

You can simply write “To be determined at a later date”.

11.6 You must list here any date in the next 12 months on which you, your representative or any witness you intend to call will not be available to attend a Tribunal hearing. For each date, you must identify the person who is unavailable and give the reason.

The Judge at the preliminary hearing will fix the date for the final hearing or the next hearing.

For example, claimant’s, respondent’s, witnesses’ or representatives’ hospital appointments, pre-booked holidays, expected week of childbirth, other commitments etc.

Questions 11.7–11.9

These questions for this section are self — explanatory.

11.10 Should the claimant or the respondent be responsible for providing documents for the Tribunal to use at the final hearing?

State that the respondent should provide documents for the final hearing. It is normal practice that they will be so ordered.

11.11 Should they be hard copies or pdf copies?

See question 9.7

12. Other preparation

12.1 Should there be a list of names and roles of the people involved in the events the claim is about (a “cast list”)?

Yes, if it’s a complex case with a large ‘cast of characters’.

12.2 Who will prepare it and on what date?

State the respondent; the date “to be determined”.

12.3 Should there be a list of dates and key events (a “chronology”)?

12.4 Who will prepare it and on what date?

This is always useful if the case involves a complex set of dates — it might be combined into a schedule of agreed facts. State the respondent, the date “to be determined”.

12.5 Are there any other special requirements for any hearing? What are they?

Parties or witnesses may need, for example, a BSL interpreter, regular breaks because of a medical condition, for the room to have a hearing induction loop, a language interpreter, or evidence given by video link, for example where a witness cannot attend the hearing because of travel distance or anxiety about travelling.

13. Alternative Dispute Resolution

13.1 Is this a case that might be suitable for judicial assessment?

In judicial assessment, if the parties agree, the judge will give an impartial, confidential assessment of the merits of the claim and defence, in order to promote settlement. It is not a ruling and a judge who gives an assessment cannot preside over any further hearings except further case management discussions. There is full guidance on the procedure here.

13.2 Are the parties interested in having a judicial assessment?

The consent of both parties is required.

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

13.4 Are you interested in attending a judicial mediation?

13.5 Are you aware that you may be required to attend a dispute resolution appointment?

It is usually preferable to say the case is suitable for such, and that the claimant is prepared to engage in it, as judicial mediation will increase the chances of a substantial settlement being reached, and cut down the time, stress and expense of the litigation process. A judge will only recommend judicial mediation if both parties are willing and if there is a reasonable prospect of a successful outcome. Judicial mediations are encouraged in discrimination cases where a hearing is likely to last for at least two days.

Matt Bradbury was an employment and discrimination expert at Citizens Advice. Simon Tingle is a discrimination expert at Citizens Advice.