would make by avoiding recoupment of social security from an award. The employer can make a "Calderbank" offer - a without prejudice letter warning that the employer thinks the claim is inflated and that costs will be sought if it wins, and offering a sum to settle, which if the employee fails to beat in his award, entitles the tribunal to consider whether refusal of the offer was unreasonable and therefore costs could be awarded against the employee. The employer can offer the claimant a good reference to be agreed in a compromise agreement in return for accepting a relatively small sum to drop the claim. The claimant may have failed to mitigate his loss by not jobseeking enough. The employee may be unable to bring a claim due to illegality, but the employer will probably come off worst from such allegations. For example, the employee may have no right to work or may be not paying the right tax - the first person to be fined for that will be the employer, and the publicity of hiring illegal workers or implication in tax scams may be scant reward for trying to kill off a small claim. Most importantly, the employer might consider the motivation for a claim. Does the employee really think he will win enough money to make it worth the hassle? Or does he want to punish the employer for the way he thinks he was treated. It may be that a without prejudice apology is worth thousands of pounds. Employee's tactics The employer may have used an employment consultant as opposed to a lawyer, in which case the claimant can demand copies of letters between them, which could devastate the defence. The employer may have missed a deadline or omitted a procedural step. The claimant can request an order for production of documents from the employer, even confidential ones are fair game - if the employer protests the tribunal can look at them privately to decide whether to give them to the claimant. The claimant can tie up a large proportion of staff with requests for witnesses. Avoiding a tribunal hearing Settlement Agreements The Settlement Agreement is a new concept that replaces the former "Compromise Agreement". Section 111A(2) of the ERA 1996 (as amended) provides for "Pre-termination Negotiations" that are: "any offers made or discussions held, before the termination of the employment in question, vita a