Reprisal fears?

[andymalory]

A question for those who have considered or would consider bringing claims (particularly for unlawful deduction of wages) to an Employment Tribunal.
Would knowing that the judgements are mostly published on gov.uk, and searchable, deter you from bringing a claim, perhaps for fear of reprisal, or for your income level to be made public - whether you win or lose?

[WTFH]

A question for those who have considered or would consider bringing claims (particularly for unlawful deduction of wages) to an Employment Tribunal.
Would knowing that the judgements are mostly published on gov.uk, and searchable, deter you from bringing a claim, perhaps for fear of reprisal, or for your income level to be made public - whether you win or lose?

Well, it would depend.
The lack of detail in your post would make it difficult to say, particularly given that most of us who have taken other businesses to court have done so based on the contract, not on something else.

Since we don't know the details of your circumstance, then it's hard to make that decision for you. I'd suggest you pay for legal advice on your case, present an expert with the facts and see what they say.

[andymalory]

The query was less about the exact circumstances, but more about whether the contents of your case being available to the general public would deter you.

Most non ET court cases do not routinely make their way into a searchable Gov.uk portal, so this is quite specific to Employment Tribunal cases.

[WTFH]

The query was less about the exact circumstances, but more about whether the contents of your case being available to the general public would deter you.

Most non ET court cases do not routinely make their way into a searchable Gov.uk portal, so this is quite specific to Employment Tribunal cases.

Ah, a purely hypothetical question.

Then my hypothetical answer is no, if a company had breached its contract and was unlawfully withholding money from me, and the amount of money being withheld was enough to make it worth my effort, and the risk of losing was low, and I had sought professional advice, I would not have a fear of "reprisal", whatever you think that would be.

If you've ever worked through an Ltd, then your company information is public anyway, I'm not sure whether your concern is about a nosey neighbour who devotes all their life searching on the internet just to find out things about you, or about future customers discovering how much you were earning at a specific point in time.
If you get caught speeding, do you get your spouse to pick up the points for fear of that information getting out?


My question goes back to: why use an employment tribunal, why not look at the contracts?

It really feels like you're giving us a quarter of a story

[northernladuk]

Do you think it's going to go all the way? A vast majority claims never make it legal, they are settled through arbitration. So if you think you've got a solid case, start the process but give the company an opportunity to sort it before it gets to court. If you don't want it to go that far then take a lesser offer to make it worthwhile for the company to settle.

[andymalory]

My concern is with all ET judgements made available for all to see. Its one thing for Companies House to publish financial documents on your company's P&L, balance sheet, etc, which is minimised for really small firms anyway, and quite another for your day rate, the tax you personally pay to be the subject of public scrutiny.

[andymalory]

Do you think it's going to go all the way? A vast majority claims never make it legal, they are settled through arbitration. So if you think you've got a solid case, start the process but give the company an opportunity to sort it before it gets to court. If you don't want it to go that far then take a lesser offer to make it worthwhile for the company to settle.

I was wondering why more inside IR35 claims haven't gone to ET for unlawful deduction of ENIC's, AL. A lot of employment contracts are so badly written, and I've seen some shocking Key Information Documents and assignment schedules too, but many still don't consider a legal recourse.

[northernladuk]

My concern is with all ET judgements made available for all to see. Its one thing for Companies House to publish financial documents on your company's P&L, balance sheet, etc, which is minimised for really small firms anyway, and quite another for your day rate, the tax you personally pay to be the subject of public scrutiny.

What exactly are you worried about?

If you believe you've got a strong case, preferrably with relevant examples of cases that went in your favour then I'd say start the process. Vast numbers of claims never make it to court. If it's anything like small claims you'll be required to go through mediation before it goes the whole way anyway so might resolve it there. That way you get most of what you wanted and it never makes it to a judgement.

Problem is what do you think they've done wrong? In nearly every single thread we've had where a contractor wants to sue someone they are just reaching and never had a case when we've pulled it apart. It's usually the first thing people want to do when they are pissed off and feel it's 'unfair' so they threaten to sue. When the details emerge there is no case.

I'd focus on what it is you think they've done wrong, get some legal advice and then where there is a real case start thinking about ET.

[northernladuk]

I'm assuming your real name is not Andy Malory by the way. Would be rather amusing if you word about anonymity but post under your real name

[Protagoras]

... but many still don't consider a legal recourse.

We've no idea how many valid claims are settled earlier in the process, nor indeed how many tenuous claims are abandoned.

I've heard that its now common to have 'compromise agreements' backed by NDAs; we're not likely to hear about many of these.