Citizens’ Advice have released a report called Justice Denied, which claims that as many as 1 in 10 tribunal awards are never paid. The gist of the report is that:
- the present system of enforcement of tribunal awards, by registration in the county / High court and use of its collection procedures is too complex and too expensive for litigants to negotiate;
- Many employers escape payment by using ‘tactics’ such as telling bailiffs that all their equipment is leased or required to perform their business;
- The government should enforce tribunal awards, and that this would be relatively inexpensive as many employers would pay the government straight away compared to their (presumably ex-)employees, and that the government could add on costs for recovery which would reduce expenditure.
I have my reservations. As is stated (but not quantified) in the report, many employees don’t receive their tribunal awards due to their employer’s insolvency - the government could ease that problem straight away by raising the amount and type of awards recoverable from the Secretary of State… unlikely.
As for the problems of squeezing money out of your judgment debtors, well this is well known to anyone involved in debt recovery. Many of the CAB case studies involve litigants obtaining fruitless orders that the debtor attends court, and warrants of execution. For private debts of any size against a company, county court bailiffs are famously as useful as a chocolate teapot, whereas HCEOs (or sheriffs as they used to be known) can be devastatingly effective - a firm of them once took walking possession of a passenger jet as it was about to take off from an airport. Threats of insolvency proceedings can also reap dividends against a company, but the procedures are indeed too complicated for most litigants in person, as well as being prohibitively expensive to commence.
What is perhaps needed is clear advice and support to litigants as to the best and most suitable methods of enforcement, and, as the report suggests as one possibility, a streamlined referral and contracting service to an HCEO firm or other commercial debt collector. What we certainly don’t need is a CSA for employment tribunals.
Update:
The CBI back the CAB’s proposals.
http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2008/10/17/47988/tribunal-enforcer-role-backed-by-cbi.html
hi
i went to my tribunal case this week and was awarded £16,000
+ £1000 prep costs that i am to give to the cab for the work done as a gift.its taken 11 months to get from pre trial hearing to a full hearing, in the meantime the sole traders have done a runner. i told the judge in august their had moved, nothing was done, their solicitor never informed the case either. She has sacked them because of unpaid bills.i don’t have the money to try and find them.
I know their are not broke but just crafty and very good at hiding. who can help me? nobody even the judge said good luck. I was told the judgement would take 14days since he wanted to make sure it was fool proof against them appealing, well it turned up friday my caseworker said he had never known one arrive so quick. I can’t afford to walk away without a fight. Its cost the tax payer so much, i have had 5 judges in total and a telephone conference call.
The cab have spent 40 hours on it. I suppose i have been lucky because if i had employed a lawyer i would be selling my car to pay the bill. What have these been doing in the meantime ? two holidays so far that i know of. if anybody has any ideas please help
thanks
Sandra - commiserations, yours sounds like exactly the sort of case the CAB identify in their report. There’s not much more I can suggest other than what’s already been told to you. Until you know where they are there isn’t much you can do. One thing you might try is to have an enquiry agent try to trace them and their assets - I have sent you details of one I have used before and can recommend.
At least once you’ve found them you’ll be able to evaluate your options.
But unfortunately no-one can guarantee that whatever you do you won’t be throwing good money after bad.
sorry meant to get back to you, i have managed to get an address for him, from ex landlord who hired a private eye
will keep you posted
the private eye went to see if he was at address and found out he’d left a couple of months ago with no forwarding address, so its back to square one again.
Dear Sir/Madam
I write to you out of shear frustration as i now have no idea what to do im not a consumer however im a ex employer to a terrible phone company called [COMPANY NAME REMOVED - UE]. I left the employment of this company after refusing to fraud the signitures of its customers so that the company could allow its service providers to exchange personal company information about telephonics customers and then be made to feel uncomfortable when this wasnt done as well as recieving constant verbal abuse, i later took this employer to a tribuneral and was awarded money, however both the owner [NAME REMOVED - UE] and the company has disapeared despite the company still trading and since im not the police i am unable to find it as it has a long trail of false addresses. This has been going on over a year and i have tried baliffs and orders for questioning most of which i have payed for myself and its got me no closer to obtaining payment. Im am currently ill and on incapacity benefit and have been so since i parted ways with this man and therefore i can not afford to pay a company to find him and the courts will not help. i would be greatful if you could offer me any advice as i am at my wits end with our unfair legal system that stacks against the victims of this sort of thing.
Yours Sincearly Leigh
Leigh -
I have no real advice beyond that which already appears - this scenario again highlights the fruitless nature of county court warrants of execution and orders that the debtor attend court. The one other avenue of investigation I can suggest Leigh is that your former employer is currently subject to an Ofcom investigation - you’ll find the details on the Ofcom website. The addresses in there may be new to you.
hi
i am getting nowhere had tried everything and now are going to get a ccj , since i have been told i might be able to get a third party debt order against the bank, anybody had
any luck with one?