The tribunal's powers to dispose of or filter claims at a preliminary stage under rules 38 and 40 of the ET Rules 2024. Anyanwu v South Bank Student Union; Ezsias v North Glamorgan NHS Trust.
Practice; procedure; Court of Appeal decision on employment tribunal procedural fairness. A tribunal should be helpful to litigants to help establish clearly whether issues raised on the papers are being pursued. Cited for the general principle that a party is entitled to know the case it has to meet.
Discrimination; these claims are fact-sensitive and should rarely be struck out without hearing evidence.
Practice; strike out; the word 'scandalous' in Rule 38(1)(a) means irrelevant and abusive of the other side, not shocking in the colloquial sense. Allegations of scandalous, unreasonable, or vexatious conduct must be made with precision and proper grounds.
Practice; strike out; the test for a deposit order is 'little reasonable prospect of success'.
Practice; strike out; claims involving disputed facts (e.g. whistleblowing) should rarely be struck out.
Practice; strike out; discrimination claims should only be struck out in the clearest case, taking the claimant's case at its highest. Where core issues of fact turn on oral evidence, they should not be decided without a full hearing. The tribunal must not conduct an impromptu mini-trial at a preliminary stage.
Practice; deposit orders; the purpose of a deposit order is emphatically not to make it difficult to access justice or to effect a strike out through the back door. The tribunal must enquire into the paying party's ability to pay; a deposit must be set at a level capable of being complied with, otherwise it impairs access to justice.