If we are unable to represent you, you should either think about representing yourself or find a lawyer who at the very least deals regularly with employment cases, but preferably one who specialises in employment law. It is a bad idea to use the services of a generalist lawyer who rarely deals with employment cases.
Before you decide to pay out of your own pocket for a lawyer you really do need to think very carefully about how much you could win at a tribunal against the very steep prices charged by lawyers.
We have come accross cases whereby sharp lawyers have encouraged claimants to run hopeless cases which have then run onto the rocks (but not before the worker involved has lost many thousands of pounds). Be very careful of lawyers that you will have to fund out of your own pocket. Do not gamble your whole savings and financial future on winning a tribunal case, no matter how enthusiastic your lawyer is about your chances.
Unless your case is a special one and you are a high earner do not use the extremely high awards sometimes reported in the press as a benchmark as to the award you might receive in your case. Such awards are reported precisely because they are rare. People who funded their own tribunal cases on the basis of a massive pay out in the end have taken a gamble, and often been very badly disappointed.
If you can not find anyone to represent you without risking funding it yourself the only option might be for you to become a diy lawyer. Representing Yourself
WorkRep conducts most business by email, post and telephone(landline). Skype is also an option. If you do not have access to a landline WorkRep will find it difficult to represent you (we are prepared to phone you outside of office hours and at pre-arranged times if necessary. Public phones can usually take outside calls).
When contacting WorkRep please include in your message your name, home and mobile telephone numbers and the best times to contact you.
WorkRep aims to respond to an initial email within a week but regrets that this can not always be guaranteed.
We regret that not all cases can be taken on owing to pressure of
capacity or what is judged to be the likely outcome of the case (Your having been wronged by your employer does not necessarily mean that the tribunal route is open to you. As well as the moral case, a legal one must also be made out and this is not always possible to do).
If we can't represent you we will try to support you with telephone/email only advice (subject to terms and conditions).
If you are being represented, WorkRep needs to be able to contact you throughout the period leading up to the hearing.
This applies even if you have not heard from WorkRep for a while (cases often have long periods where nothing appears to happen, followed by intense activity. This can be when orders are given by the tribunal. Being able to contact you is essential at such times).
Please Do not go away or on holiday without having emailed WorkRep with contact details.
If WorkRep is unable to contact you we will not be able to represent you effectively. Under such circumstances we reserve the right to withdraw our representation.