In person For the v Respondent — 2020

This was a preliminary hearing about whether to revoke the effect of an unless order made on 25 September 2019. The order required the claimant to provide, by 15 January 2020, his own witness statement limited to 3,500 words, failing which the claim would stand dismissed without further order. The claimant had brought claims of unfair dismissal, race discrimination, disability discrimination, redundancy payment and notice pay against his former employer.

The tribunal held that the order had clearly required a witness statement from the claimant himself, not just from third-party witnesses, and that earlier case management orders had made that position equally clear. It found that the claimant had not provided his own statement by the deadline, having served only a statement from his partner, and concluded that there was no basis on which it would be in the interests of justice to revoke the unless order.

The judge found that the claimant's refusal to provide the required statement was deliberate and calculated. He rejected the claimant's argument that his claim form or medical records could stand in place of a witness statement, and rejected the contention that this was the first time it had been made clear to him that he needed to provide one himself. The tribunal also rejected the claimant's suggestion that the position was discriminatory because of his Polish language or understanding of English.

As a result, the claim remained dismissed. The respondent sought £48,000 in costs, and the tribunal said there was a basis for a costs application, but no proper CPR-compliant schedule had been produced. It therefore gave directions for any further costs application and for evidence about means and the value of a detailed assessment, but it did not make a costs award in this judgment.