EAT PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE
Striking-out/dismissal
Imposition of deposit
Applications to strike out on the basis that there is no reasonable prospect of success should only be made in the most obvious and plain cases in which there is no factual dispute and which the applicant can clearly cross the high threshold of showing that there are no reasonable prospects of success. Applications that involve prolonged or extensive study of documents and the assessment of disputed evidence that may depend on the credibility of the witnesses should not be brought under rule 18(7)(b) but must be determined at a full hearing. Applications under rule 18(7)(b) that involve issues of discrimination must be approached with particular caution. In cases where there are real factual disputes the parties should prepare for a full hearing rather than dissipate their energy and resources, and those, of Employment Tribunals, on deceptively attractive shortcuts. Such applications should rarely, if ever, involve oral evidence and should be measured in hours rather than days. The Respondent failed to establish that the instant claims had neither a reasonable prospect of success nor little reasonable prospect of success.
Judges:
Serota QC J
Citations:
[2012] UKEAT 0495 – 11 – 1204
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Employment
Updated: 31 October 2022; Ref: scu.459929