EAT PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE: Bias, misconduct and procedural irregularity
Bias. Claim of unfair dismissal by senior legal executive against local authority employer. Claim upheld and substantial award of compensation ordered. One of the Tribunal lay members was District Secretary of the RMT Trade Union and, at the time of all relevant hearings in the case, was involved in that capacity in a dispute with the Respondents regarding their licensing of taxi cabs. He had criticised the Respondents openly, in writing and in a press statement and was reported by the local press as having ‘blasted’ the Respondents’ report on the matter as ‘extremely biased’ and as having shown ‘very poor leadership and inefficiency’. The Respondents’ legal services department did not become aware of his involvement in the taxi licensing dispute until after the merits hearing; they unsuccessfully sought a review on bias grounds. They appealed to the EAT and the EAT upheld the appeal; this was a plain case of apparent bias and it was surprising (a) that the lay member had not volunteered the relevant information and (b) that the Tribunal had not itself recognised, when the matter was aired at review, that the demands of impartiality required that the review be granted.
Smith L
[2008] UKEAT 0030 – 08 – 0711
Bailii
England and Wales
Employment
Updated: 11 November 2021; Ref: scu.277634