Please see a message below from Jonathan Parkin, Regional Employment Judge (dated 1.4.2020)
Further to his message on 18 March 2020, Judge Doyle, President of Employment Tribunals (E & W) updated the Presidential Guidance on 24 March 2020 and the link here shows the current position.
ET business is continuing to be handled in the North West by a dedicated but reduced administrative staff team, with Employment Judges’ input (although most are now working remotely from the office).
All case management hearings for the time being in the North West Region will be held electronically and you will be provided with details of how to join by the Tribunal staff.
Please do not contact the Tribunal to find out what these details are but wait to be contacted. However, parties should assist the Tribunal by preparing and agreeing as much as possible ahead of the hearing. Please see the attached Remote CMPH instructions which will be sent out to all parties to the case management hearings. It is expected that represented parties will take the lead in preparing the electronic bundles.
Any applications to postpone hearings, should likewise be made as soon as possible with agreement from or at least on notice to the other party. Otherwise applications to and correspondence with the Tribunal should be kept to a minimum while the current situation
https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Presidential-Guidance-ET-Covid19.pdf
At present, the planned User Group meetings are still expected to take place in June 2020: at Manchester on 2 June; Liverpool on 3 June and Carlisle on 5 June. However, these may need to be postponed if the current Covid-19 situation persists.
There is a note below about NW region case management preliminary hearings.
Jonathan Parkin
Regional Employment Judge
North West Region
North West Region Case Management Preliminary Hearings
This case is listed for a private preliminary hearing for case management. It is potentially suitable for a telephone hearing conducted by an Employment Judge working remotely without the Tribunal file.
Hearings which cannot be conducted by a judge working remotely are likely to be postponed. The numbers of judges and administrative staff able to work from Alexandra House at present are greatly reduced.
In order for this hearing to be conducted remotely one of the parties will need to email a pdf of the relevant documents to the following email address not later than 10am on the working day before the hearing.
The email address is manchesteret.listing@Justice.gov.uk
In the subject heading include the case number, the date of the hearing and the words Remote Hearing.
There should be only one pdf file, not one from each side. The pdf file should be paginated. The parties should cooperate with each other (in accordance with the overriding objective) in order to provide the Tribunal with a joint pdf file.
The joint pdf file must contain legible copies of the following:
(a) the ACAS early conciliation certificate(s)
(b) the claim and response form(s)
(c) any further particulars, amendments or additions to the claim and response forms, whether permitted or proposed
(d) any previous Employment Tribunal judgments or orders
(e) any other correspondence to or from the Tribunal which either side thinks the judge might need
(f) a case management agenda form completed on behalf of all parties. Ideally a single agenda should be provided. If the parties cannot agree some of the agenda this can be noted in a single document.
(g) a draft list of issues (if not incorporated in the agenda form). Ideally a single draft list of issues should be provided. In the event that the parties do not agree on all issues this can be noted in a single document.
If the Tribunal does not have this pdf file by 10am on the working day before the hearing it is likely to be postponed.