The Presidents of the Employment Tribunals (England & Wales, and Scotland) have carried out the first review (due on 29 April) of the Joint Presidents' Direction (amended 24 March 2020) on ET Hearings during the Covid-19 pandemic.
As a result, the FAQs will be updated today as follows:
(22) I know that the ET Presidents said they were going to review the direction they issued about what was to happen, in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, to ET cases already listed for hearing. Have they done that?
Yes, they did this on 29 April 2020. Following this review that Direction remains in force in its current form. This means that Hearings listed on or after 29 June 2020 will remain in hearing lists. During the Covid-19 pandemic arrangements will be made to contact parties/representatives in these listed cases so that an assessment can be made by an Employment Judge of the most appropriate method of conducting the hearing (for example, that could be entirely in-person, entirely by remote means, or a combination of such methods). At that time any special measures which require to be put in place in connection with the conduct of the hearing will also be considered. Parties remain at liberty to make any application to the Tribunal that they consider appropriate at any time.
Comments