This is Jersey reports that an employee has succeeded in obtaining an Order for enforcement against their former after the employer failed to pay an award for compensation from the Employment Tribunal.
Mr Carratu instructed an unfair dismissal solicitor and succeeded in his unfair dismissal claim to the Employment Tribunal last year. He was awarded £19,000 for his Employment Tribunal claim. However, he subsequently found it difficult to get the Employment Tribunal’s Order enforced and was forced to make an application to the High Court to force his former employers (“United Fashions Ltd”, trading as “Beau Monde”) to pay up. He succeeded in this application and has now been granted judgment with permission to sell the companies assets as well as costs.
The right to claim unfair dismissal is a statutory right conferred by the Employment Rights Act 1996. If an employee (defined as someone who is working under a contract of employment) thinks that the termination of their contract of employment was unfair (and meets the necessary qualifications) then they can make a claim for unfair dismissal to the Employment Tribunal. There are strict time limits in force regarding unfair dismissal claims (three months less one day from the date of the dismissal) so don’t miss that deadline otherwise it will be very difficult to make a claim.
Even if you do succeed with your unfair dismissal claim then you may experience problems with enforcing an Order for compensation. Small employers often refuse to pay awards and this can be a headache for Claimants. However, you can seek to enforce your award through the “ACAS Fast Track” process or apply to the High Court for an order for enforcement against your former employer. Although this process can often be a lengthy one, it allows Claimants to get (at least part of) their award from the Respondent. The only thing that will generally prevent the recoupment of compensation is if the business that owes the money to the Claimant is dissolved.
So, should you instruct unfair dismissal solicitors to handle your unfair dismissal claim? Their are certainly pros and cons to instructing specialist employment law solicitors to undertake your Employment Tribunal litigation – the pros are that they are experts in their field and will therefore allow you (normally) a greater chance of succeeding in your claim. The main “con” is obviously that they will charge for their services – if the case is being pursued on a no win no fee basis then the solicitor will generally be looking to take between 25% and 35% of any award. These are considerations that you must bear in mind when choosing whether to undertake the unfair dismissal claim yourself or to delegate it to an expert employment law solicitor.
Employment Law Advice Solicitors are employment law solicitors based in the City of London.
Employment Law Advice Solicitors
