In some cases, the tribunal may decide to hold a hearing in advance of the main hearing, to deal with preliminary procedural or legal issues.
Case management discussion
In a complex case, the tribunal may hold a hearing to decide how the case should be handled. The tribunal will use this hearing, known as a case management discussion, to clarify the legal issues, decide how much time should be allocated for the hearing, identify what witness orders may be needed, and decide whether any documents should be disclosed by one party or the other. This discussion is conducted by an Employment Judge alone.
An Employment Judge may also decide, on his or her own initiative or on application by one of the parties, to hold a pre-hearing review. The purpose of this hearing is for the Employment Judge to consider preliminary legal questions. In an unfair dismissal case, for example, the tribunal may decide that a pre-hearing review is necessary to decide whether a late claim should be allowed, whether the claimant is an employee or whether the claimant has the necessary qualifying service to bring the claim. In addition, the Employment Judge can look at the written claim and response, hear from the parties on what their case is about and then decide whether the claim or the defence has 'no reasonable prospect of success'. If the Employment Judge concludes that a party has little reasonable chance of success, he or she can order that party to pay a deposit of up to £500 as a condition of being allowed to continue. A tribunal chaired by a different Employment Judge will then conduct the main hearing. At the conclusion of the case, the party's deposit may be refunded. If the party is ordered to pay the other party's costs or expenses (costs and expenses), however, the deposit will go towards meeting those costs. If the Employment Judge concludes that a party has no reasonable chance of success, he or she can strike out the claim or, as the case may be, the defence.