Representing yourself at the Employment Tribunal can be daunting and stressful. Adding to that stress is the language used by the Employment Tribunal which can be difficult to understand. One of the questions we are often asked is about Further and Better Particulars and what that means. We hope to provide some guidance in this blog as below. However, if you would like a free enquiry call to discuss your matter, simply call us on 01522 440512 and we will be happy to help.
Why Have You Been Ordered To Provide Further and Better Particulars?
As a Claimant, you will be required to plead your claim. Broadly, this means that you need to explain what has happened; what claims you think you have; and, why you believe the relevant legal tests apply in your circumstances. The idea being that you need to provide sufficient information so that the Respondent (your opponent at the Employment Tribunal) can understand your claim(s) against them.
If the Respondent and/or the Employment Tribunal consider that there is insufficient information, Further and Better Particulars requiring you to provide that information can be ordered.
What Are The Further and Better Particulars Of An Employment Tribunal Claim?
The information you provide about your claim will broadly fall into two categories – factual and legal.
Factual Further and Better Particulars
Factual Further and Better Particulars are really about the “who, what, where and when”. Many Claimants find it difficult to summarise and be clear about the events and incidents they want to make a claim about. It is very common to be required to provide additional factual detail to help the Respondent and the Employment Tribunal understand what the Claimant says happened.
This is particularly common for particulars about dates. The Employment Tribunal has very strict time limits and so clear information about when something has happened (or not as the case may be) is incredibly important. If that information is vague in the Claim Form, you will be asked to provide that detail in Further and Better Particulars.
Following on from the above, for some claims the order of events is important. For example, if you are alleging the Respondent did something to you because you raised a grievance – you will need to clear when the grievance was raised, what it complained about, and then what you say happened as a consequence and when.
Legal Further and Better Particulars
Legal Further and Better Particulars are all about the legal basis for your claims. This can be a struggle for people representing themselves. Whilst the Employment Tribunal Judge will provide some guidance, they cannot plead your claim for you or suggest claims that you should bring.
The most common situation we see is where a Claimant has done a good job in the Claim Form of setting out a factual account of what has happened, however, they have then just said they are claiming “unfair dismissal” or “discrimination” with no further information or explanation. Again, the Employment Tribunal Judge will provide some guidance, but they are not going to go through your account identifying what types of claim you can bring. It is not their responsibility to plead your claim for you.
My Client’s Story – Further and Better Particulars Worked Example
To provide an example, I recently assisted a client who had asked to work from home. Her employer refused her request. My client submitted an Employment Tribunal claim with three paragraphs of factual account and ticked the box stating she wanted to claim disability discrimination. She had attended a Preliminary Hearing after which she was required to provide Further and Better Particulars. However, she had struggled. When she came to me, she was facing a strike out application from the Respondent and a costs threat.
We went through what had been ordered and what was needed together. We then put together her Further and Better Particulars and claim step by step. For her specific claim:
- We started by explaining why my client was a disabled person for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010, Section 6. Specifically:
- What her physical and mental health conditions were:
- When she had been diagnosed with the above (to show they were long term):
- How they affected her day to day (both the conditions themselves and the medication she was taking).
- We then gave dates and details of when my client had made her employer aware of her disability.
- We then explained that her request to work from home was a request for a reasonable adjustment – Equality Act 2010, Sec 20(3). In so doing we explained:
- The “provision, criterion or practice” the Respondent had:
- Why the above substantially disadvantaged my disabled client:
- Why she believed working from home would remove that disadvantage and therefore requested the adjustment: and,
- Why she believed the requested adjustment was reasonable in all the circumstances.
- We then identified that the request for a reasonable adjustment was refused by the Respondent – Equality Act 2010, Sec 21.
Once we submitted the above to the Respondent and the Employment Tribunal, things moved quickly. My client went from a strike out application and costs threat to an excellent settlement and payment of compensation. We discussed that the problem was not the strength of her claim but that that strength was not apparent from the Claim Form and information she submitted. Fortunately, once Further and Better Particulars were submitted the strength of her position was clear and we were able to achieve a quick resolution.
Lincs Law Employment Solicitors Can Help You
If you have an Employment Tribunal claim and have been ordered to provide Further and Better Particulars, please contact us for a free, no obligation, enquiry call on 01522 440512. We will be happy to help.
Sally Hubbard
Managing Director, Specialist Employment Solicitor
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