Apparently you can’t vary Tribunal Orders by agreement between the parties

An extact of from a letter we recently received from an Employment  Tribunal:

Employment Judge XXX directs as follows :-

“ Any variation to the Case Management timetable needs to be the subject of an application to the Tribunal. It is not acceptable for the parties to seek to vary orders between themselves”

What?….has the world gone mad?

Having acted for Claimants for over 20 years, I have been varying standard directions with my opposite number throughout that period to ensure the overriding objective is met, namely that the case is ready for final  hearing. Standard directions rarely fit every case and require variance to make them workable as a matter of course. Surely, as experienced practitioners in this area of law, we can be trusted to do that without having to trouble the Tribunal every time?

I wonder whether this new approach is symptomtric of EJ’s having more time on their hands since the dramatic fall off in the volume of claims since fees were introduced?

Oh well, best get back to making applications…

Dean Morris