The grass is not greener........

I have had a busy time of it over the last week or so and have fallen behind on the blog. As I explained to those of you who attended the seminar last Wednesday one of the purposes of this blog is to keep people informed of the conditions on the ground at Tribunals.

I have recently been instructed to act for a large employer who has a number of claims running at Croydon. The experience has not been a good one. Croydon unlike Southampton do not appear to actively manage cases.

Time estimates are based upon what the Tribunal think rather than asking the parties. Croydon are also issuing basic case directions with tight time limits in relation to Schedules of Loss and exchange of documents. The directions do not include the usual Southampton orders in respect of agreed bundles and then witness statements. The net result is that witness statements are produced prior to the bundle. You should also note that the Respondent has to prepare the bundle unlike most other Tribunals.

I would advise anyone who has a case at Croydon to try and get proper directions as to the preparation of the bundle and exchange. The directions should make it clear that the bundles come before the statements and the statements are cross referenced with the bundle. In the end this saves the client money as the hearing goes more smoothly.

Finally unless you can persuade the other side that the time estimate is wrong the Tribunal will plough on regardless of what you say to the contrary. In order to get the case properly prepared you need to cooperate with the other side to create a united front when dealing with this Tribunal.

You may also be interested to know that very few people turned up to the last users meeting at Croydon. We usually get a good turnout at Southampton and it appears to me that if we continue to show an interest in our local Tribunal we can avoid our Tribunal becoming like Croydon.

Peter D