Employment tribunals are never much fun for employers to deal with. But if you find yourself called up to attend one, you need to prepare correctly.
Don’t Dismiss People without Thinking
The first step you take should be to avoid having to appear at industrial tribunals in the first place. If you did nothing wrong, and then employee still decides to take action, then there’s obviously nothing you can do. But, in most cases, the employee has a genuine concern with the way an issue was handled by the employer.
You need to be sure that you are within your rights to dismiss the employee before you go ahead with it. If you sack someone for an unfair reason, the employee would be perfectly within their rights to take action against the business. So, do it the right way in future.
Prepare with Expert Help
Trying to take on the case by yourself is not a great idea. This can make it pretty hard to win the case, even if it does save you some money in legal fees. Firms like maemploymentlawyers.com offer advice and support for businesses that are facing an employment tribunal. So, take advantage of their skills, knowledge and experience in this area of law.
Having a lawyer on your side will help make sure that you don’t make any small mistakes that could damage your chances of success. Not getting all the evidence in order and not backing up your arguments can have disastrous consequences. But this is something that your lawyer will be able to help you with.
Know the Documents Inside Out
Confidence is a big thing when it comes to winning a case at an industrial tribunal. You can only gain that confidence if you’re sure that you know the case and the documents inside out. So, you need to read through them with your lawyer and then double check to make sure that everything is understood.
When it comes to presenting your case, not knowing what you’re talking about will stand out straight away. It’s pretty easy to tell when an employer is making it up as they go along. If you do that, it might not matter if you did the right thing or not because fumbling and stumbling over the issue will make you look unprofessional.
Give a Clear Account
When the big day eventually comes, and you need to defend your business’s actions in front of a judge, it’s important to give a clear account of your version of events. Don’t ramble on and confuse the issue because this won’t fool anyone. You need to make your case and then be able to back it up with relevant evidence.
If you trip up and contradict yourself, this will seriously undermine your efforts to win the case. So, you need to rehearse beforehand and be sure of what it is you’re going to say. It’s also important to be polite to the tribunal panel or judge. Being rude, obnoxious or discourteous will not do your case any favours.