Partner Article

Hill Dickinson Seminars bring Employment Tribunals to life

Law firm Hill Dickinson has announced it is to hold a series of showcase mock employment tribunals throughout England in October.

Dealing with a specific, real-life case study involving claims of unfair dismissal, discrimination on pregnancy-related grounds and sexual harassment, these interactive full-day sessions will recreate a realistic employment tribunal hearing, including witness evidence, cross-examination and delivery of the tribunal’s judgment. The seminars will take place in Liverpool, Manchester, Chester, Sheffield and London.

The claim involves employee, Caira O’Doherty, who was dismissed by her employer, Fix-it Fitters Ltd, after a prolonged period of sickness absence. Caira claimed that she was dismissed for reasons connected to her recent pregnancy. Fix-it Fitters say that she was fairly dismissed on grounds of capability.

Commenting on the employment events, Kerstie Skeaping, partner in the employment team said: “As employment law specialists, we have a responsibility to equip HR professionals and those in charge of managing staff with as much experience and knowledge as possible of how to handle these cases, which are often extremely sensitive and potentially very damaging for businesses’ reputation, if handled incorrectly.

“These latest series of events come as a result of the extremely positive feedback we have received from previous mock trials we have held at the firm, with many attendees stating that they gained a greater understanding by being involved in the seminar, rather than purely listening in a lecture-style format.”

The event dates and locations are:

• Thursday 2 October 2014 - Hill Dickinson Liverpool

No.1 St. Paul’s Square, Liverpool, L3 9SJ

• Tuesday 7 October 2014 - The Castlefield Rooms Manchester

The Brindley Room, 8-20 Castle Street, Castlefield, Manchester, M3 4LZ

• Thursday 9 October 2014 - Chester Zoo

Upton by Chester, Caughall Road car park, CH2 1LH

• Tuesday 14 October 2014 - Hill Dickinson Sheffield

The Balance, Pinfold Street, Sheffield, S1 2GU

• Thursday 16 October 2014 - Hill Dickinson London

The Broadgate Tower, 20 Primrose Street, London, EC2A 2EW

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Hill Dickinson .