Case management orders

In most routine cases, the next step is for the tribunal judge to send the parties a list of the steps that must be followed by a specific date to prepare for the hearing, known as a case management order. Typical directions include:

• document preparation and disclosure: both parties must list the relevant documents they hold, provide copies to the other party, and prepare an agreed, indexed and page-numbered “bundle” (a photocopy set of the relevant documents the ET will be asked to refer to at the hearing to decide the issues in the case);

• both parties must prepare and exchange witness statements; and

• the parties must attend a hearing for the claim to be decided.

If non-standard orders or instructions are needed, there will be a case management hearing. This will be in private. In normal times, the hearing can be in person or over the phone. During the pandemic, all case management hearings have been taking place remotely.