What happens at a Case Management Hearing?
The short answer
A Case Management Hearing (a CMH) is a short, private preliminary hearing, usually held by telephone or video. The Employment Judge does not hear evidence and does not decide who wins. Instead the judge works through an agenda: agreeing the list of issues, then setting the timetable and directions for disclosure, witness statements and the final hearing. You come away with a written order telling everyone what to do, and by when.
What a CMH is for
A Case Management Hearing is a short preliminary hearing at which an Employment Judge sets the timetable for the claim. The judge is not deciding the case. They are working out what the issues are and giving directions, so everyone knows what to do and by when before the final hearing.
Who is in the hearing
A CMH is usually heard by a single Employment Judge, sitting without lay members. Both parties attend, or their representatives if they have them. It is held in private, normally by video or telephone rather than in a hearing room, and there are no witnesses and no members of the public.
What happens on the day
The judge confirms who is present and then works through the agenda. The core of it is agreeing the list of issues: the legal questions the tribunal will have to decide and the key facts in dispute. Once the issues are settled, the judge sets directions with dates: disclosure of documents, exchange of witness statements, any further information, and the listing of the final hearing. Each side is asked for its view on those directions and for any dates to avoid.
What you come away with
After the hearing the tribunal sends a written Case Management Order. It records the agreed list of issues and every direction with its deadline. That order is the roadmap for the rest of the claim, so it is worth reading carefully and putting every date in your diary.
Key takeaways
- A CMH decides how the case will run, not who wins.
- It is short and private, and usually held by video or telephone.
- The heart of it is agreeing the list of issues and setting the timetable.
- You leave with a written Case Management Order: read it and put every deadline in your diary.
What's next in this stage
Where this sits in a claim