Miss K Wright v Minster Law Solicitors — 2020

At the preliminary hearing on 8 June 2020, Employment Judge Rostant, sitting alone by telephone, considered whether the claimant had complied with earlier orders requiring disclosure of documents and a schedule of loss. The judgment records that the claimant had been given repeated opportunities to comply, including a further order made on 18 February 2020 and an Unless Order of 2 April 2020 requiring compliance by 16 April 2020. The claimant said she had updated her schedule of loss, but the tribunal found that she still had not provided copies of documents to the respondent and had not copied compliance to the Tribunal.

The tribunal framed the issue as whether there had been substantial compliance with its orders. It cited Marcan Shipping (London) Ltd v Kefala and asked whether there had been non-compliance in a material respect. The judge held that there had been material non-compliance with both the document order and the requirement to copy compliance to the Tribunal. The judgment therefore confirms that the claim stood struck out on 17 April 2020. No substantive merits findings or monetary award were made.