I brought a tribunal case against an employer which was unfathomably bad. Firstly, after going through ACAS and getting to the point where the case was filed I heard absolutely nothing back from the court. Around 6 months later I randomly decided to contact the tribunal service via phone to find out when my case was to be heard only to be told it would be in 2 weeks and I had to submit my evidence that day. I rushed to prepare my pack and submitted it before the deadline. This was just the start of what would be a hugely frustrating and eye opening experience that highlighted just how corrupt and unfit for purpose the service is. On the day of the case we were told by the judge that the case would be heard by him and him alone.. first red flag. The respondent hadn't even bothered to turn up to court and instead sent somebody from the company that I had never met or spoken to before. Every single piece of evidence I presented was dismissed by the judge who went as far as making excuses and putting explanations in the mouth of the respondent who happily nodded along knowing the judge was wholly on his side from the outset. They brought no evidence at all except an email they had printed out and brought to the court which was allowed to be submitted as evidence on the day ..second major red flag. The email in question was meant to highlight that the company had followed their dismissal process that the respondent's representative had gone to great detail in court to explain was a routine part of their notification process. The only problem was upon inspection the email was created and dated that morning an hour before we had arrived in court, which proved they had failed to follow their own process and notify me of dismissal. The judge then said it "must have been a mistake" on their part, literally making an excuse on their behalf for something that should have been dismissed as evidence on the basis that they had attempted to mislead the court. The judge unsurprisingly ruled in their favour and I went home completely depressed and angry. I then did some research and found I could ask for the judge's decision in writing, which I promptly requested knowing that if nothing else, a document of just how bad this process was would become part of public record. Then for some inexplicable, magical reason I received a letter from the judge saying he believed he may have "misdirected himself in law" and failed to view the case properly, that he would review the decision and come back to me. The decision was then reversed and I won, but only at the point where the judge was held accountable for his actions in the court. If anyone has an explanation as to how a judge with over 20 years experience in dealing with employment tribunals can forget how to view a simple breach of contract case, I'd be really interested to know.
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