Employment tribunals convert hearings to remote means

Employment tribunal hearings where parties are expected to attend at tribunal will from today (23 March) be converted to case management hearings by phone or digital means. 

The Presidents of the Employment Tribunals in England & Wales and in Scotland have made the direction as part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unless parties are advised otherwise, the hearing will take place on the first day allocated for the hearing. It will be used to discuss how best to proceed in the light of the Presidential Guidance dated 18 March 2020, unless in the individual case the President, a regional employment judge or the Vice President directs otherwise.

If the case is set down for more than one day, parties should proceed on the basis that the remainder of the days fixed have been cancelled. The direction also applies to any hearing that is already in progress today.

Parties remain free to make any application to the tribunal at any time.