Employment Tribunal Claims in Gibraltar: Keeping Legal Costs Under Control

Chris Brunt is an employment lawyer who can advise employees on Gibraltar Employment Tribunal claims. Chris is an associate barrister at Phillips Barristers and Solicitors and can be contacted on 200 73900 or +350 54089923 or use the email form for a free 30min consultation.

If you are bringing a claim in the Gibraltar Employment Tribunal, you do not have to choose between representing yourself entirely and paying a lawyer to handle every stage of the case.

There is a middle ground. I can help with the parts of your case where legal advice, drafting or advocacy is likely to make the biggest difference, while you deal with the parts you feel able to manage yourself.

What Is Limited-Scope Legal Help?

This is sometimes called limited-scope or “unbundled” legal assistance. Instead of instructing a lawyer to run the whole case, you instruct me for particular stages or tasks.

At the outset, we agree in writing exactly what I will do and what remains your responsibility. For example, you might instruct me to advise on your claim and draft the Claim Form, while you file it, deal with correspondence from the Tribunal and your employer, and keep track of deadlines.

The arrangement can be increased or reduced by agreement as the case develops. If I think you need more help than we have agreed in order to protect your position, I will tell you.

Who the Tribunal Will Deal With

One practical point is important. The Claim Form asks whether you have a representative. The Tribunal’s guidance explains that, if you appoint a representative, the Tribunal will deal with that representative rather than with you. It also says that you should not name a person or organisation who is only giving you advice on filling in the Claim Form.

If I am instructed only to advise you or to help prepare and draft your Claim Form, you should not name me as your representative on the Claim Form. In that situation, the Tribunal will correspond directly with you and you will remain responsible for dealing with that correspondence and complying with deadlines. If I am appointed to act as your representative, the Tribunal will instead communicate with me. We will agree my role clearly at the outset and, if it changes during the case, make sure that the Tribunal is informed.

Getting the Claim Right From the Start

One of the most important stages of any claim is the Claim Form itself.

Section 6.2 of the Claim Form asks you to give details of your claim, including the dates of relevant events, and you can continue on separate pages if you need more space. The Tribunal’s Presidential Guidance asks claimants to give full details of their claims, with information and evidence to support them and, if possible, the relevant law.

Many employees find this the hardest part to do alone. I can review your documents and circumstances and draft the Claim Form, together with properly structured section 6.2 Particulars of Claim setting out:

the important background facts;

the acts or decisions you are complaining about;

the relevant dates and the people involved;

the legal claims you are bringing;

the main allegations against your employer; and

what you are asking the Tribunal to award.

The aim is not to make your claim more complicated. It is to set out your case clearly, accurately and persuasively from the beginning.

Why a Well-Prepared Claim Matters for Settlement

Employment disputes may settle without reaching a Main Hearing. The Gibraltar Employment Tribunal procedure provides a formal opportunity for this: once your employer’s Response has been accepted, the Claim and the Response are referred to a Mediator, who gives both parties an opportunity to resolve the dispute through conciliation. If conciliation is unsuccessful, the Mediator issues a Conciliation Certificate and the claim is referred to an Employment Tribunal Chairperson.

Before meaningful settlement negotiations take place, your employer and its lawyers will want to understand the case they have to answer. A well-drafted claim shows that you have identified the relevant legal issues, understand the facts that support your claim and are ready to pursue it if it does not settle.

If you have a strong case, setting it out clearly from the beginning can improve your negotiating position. No claim is guaranteed to settle, and no particular outcome can be promised, but negotiations are inevitably influenced by how each side assesses the strengths, weaknesses, risks and value of the case.

You May Be Able to Handle Much of the Procedure Yourself

If the claim does not settle at mediation, the Chairperson will usually hold a Preliminary Hearing and may make a Case Management Order setting out the steps both sides must take before the Main Hearing, such as disclosing documents, exchanging witness statements and preparing bundles of documents.

Depending on your case, you may feel able to:

correspond with the Tribunal;

comply with routine directions;

organise your documents;

prepare a chronology;

exchange documents with your employer;

keep your own case file; and

deal with other straightforward administrative steps.

Where you are willing and able to deal with these steps, they can stay with you, leaving your legal budget for the stages where it counts most.

Unless we agree otherwise, you remain responsible for complying with Tribunal orders, filing documents, keeping to deadlines and promptly sending me any correspondence or order that affects the work I am doing for you. Missing a Tribunal deadline can have serious consequences for a claim, so this part of the arrangement matters.

Advice on Settlement Offers

I can also be instructed specifically to advise on a settlement offer. Offers can arise during mediation, while the case is being prepared or shortly before the Main Hearing.

Deciding whether to accept an offer involves more than comparing the figure offered with the figure you claimed. Relevant considerations may include:

the legal merits of your claim;

the evidence available to prove it;

your employer’s defence;

what the claim is realistically worth;

the risk of losing;

the compensation you could expect if you win;

the time and cost of continuing; and

the terms of the proposed settlement, not just the amount.

I can advise you on these points and, if you wish, negotiate with your employer or its lawyers on your behalf.

Preparing for the Main Hearing

If the case does not settle, you may decide that legal help becomes more important as the Main Hearing approaches.

For example, I can prepare a skeleton argument. This is a written summary of your legal case for the Tribunal. It identifies the relevant legislation and case law, sets out the key issues the Tribunal must decide and explains how the evidence supports your claim.

This can be done as a separate piece of work, even if I have not been involved in the earlier stages.

Representation at the Main Hearing

You can also instruct me to represent you at the Main Hearing. As your advocate, my role can include:

presenting your case to the Tribunal;

taking you and your witnesses through your evidence;

cross-examining your employer’s witnesses;

dealing with legal arguments that arise during the hearing;

addressing the Tribunal on the evidence given by both sides;

applying the relevant employment law to the facts; and

making closing submissions explaining why the Tribunal should find in your favour.

If you have handled the earlier stages yourself, having an experienced barrister at the Main Hearing means that you have professional help at the point where your case is actually decided.

Legal Costs in the Tribunal

There is no fee to bring a claim in the Gibraltar Employment Tribunal. If you instruct a lawyer, however, you will be responsible for the legal fees that you agree with that lawyer.

Generally, you do not have to pay your employer’s legal costs simply because you lose your case. The Tribunal can, however, make a costs or preparation-time order in some circumstances, including where a party has acted vexatiously, abusively, disruptively or otherwise unreasonably, or where a claim has no reasonable prospect of success.

The Tribunal’s Presidential Guidance makes the point directly:

“Please bear in mind that it is likely that you will be stopped from continuing with your Claim at some stage (including right from the start when completing your Claim Form) if you are unable to present understandable and arguable complaints under the relevant law supported by the facts relevant to your case. In extreme cases, the Employment Tribunal may order you to pay the Respondent’s (Your employer’s) legal costs if it thinks that it was not reasonable of you to bring your Claim at all or that your Claim has no reasonable prospect of success or that the way in which you have conducted the proceedings has been unreasonable (or vexatious, abusive or disruptive).”

This is another reason to make sure that your claim is properly considered and set out from the start.

A Flexible Approach to Fees

Legal help does not have to be all or nothing. Depending on your case and your budget, you could instruct me for:

initial advice on whether you have a viable claim;

drafting the Claim Form and the section 6.2 Particulars of Claim;

reviewing your employer’s Response;

advising on the strengths and weaknesses of your case;

advising on compensation and what your claim is worth;

help with settlement negotiations;

advice at key stages during the proceedings;

drafting a skeleton argument;

preparing the case for the Main Hearing; or

representing you at the Main Hearing.

Alternatively, I can conduct the case more extensively for you if that is what you need and we agree that scope of work.

Whatever we agree will be recorded in writing at the outset. If the case becomes more complex or you need more help, the arrangement can be reviewed and changed by agreement.

Keeping Representation Affordable

If you have recently lost your job, or your income is under pressure because of a dispute at work, legal fees are an understandable concern.

Rather than paying a lawyer to handle every letter and every step, you can decide where professional help is likely to make the biggest difference.

For some people, that means having the claim professionally drafted at the start. For others, it means getting advice when a settlement offer arrives. Some conduct much of the case themselves and then instruct an advocate for the Main Hearing. Others want help at several stages.

There is no one-size-fits-all arrangement. The right level of help depends on how complex your case is, what steps are needed and how comfortable you are managing the parts that stay with you.

Thinking of Bringing a Claim?

Time limits in the Employment Tribunal are short. The Tribunal’s guidance explains that you will usually have to bring a claim within 3 months of your employment ending or the problem happening. The precise time limit and the date from which it runs depend on the type of claim, so it is important to obtain advice promptly.

If you are an employee considering a claim, or you have already started proceedings on your own, I can discuss the help you need and whether my involvement can be structured so that legal costs remain proportionate to your case.

I am a Gibraltar employment lawyer and barrister at Phillips Barristers & Solicitors and regularly represent employees in the Employment Tribunal.

You can contact me at Phillips Barristers & Solicitors, 292 Main Street, Gibraltar, by telephone on (+350) 200 73900, or by email at chris.brunt@phillips.gi for an informal discussion about your case.

This article is provided for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Every Employment Tribunal claim depends on its own facts, the applicable law and its procedural circumstances. You should obtain specific legal advice about your own case. Strict time limits apply to Employment Tribunal claims, so you should seek advice promptly rather than relying on the general information in this article.

The Tribunal’s Presidential Guidance makes the point directly: