Mrs D Hughes v Reach4 solutions Ltd — 2021

This reserved judgment dealt only with the respondent's applications to strike out the claimant's claim and for a deposit order. The respondent argued that the claim had no reasonable prospects of success, or at least little reasonable prospects of success, because it said the claimant was very unlikely to recover any losses even if successful.

The tribunal held that the legal position on whether a claimant can bring an unfair dismissal claim even where no compensation is payable was not clear cut. It also noted that, if the claimant succeeded, it would have to consider losses at the hearing and in the future. Although the claimant had indicated that she was claiming compensation only, the tribunal said it was obliged to consider whether reinstatement or re-engagement would be appropriate under sections 112 to 115 of the Employment Rights Act 1996.

On that basis, the tribunal was not satisfied that the claim had no prospects of success or little reasonable prospects of success. It therefore refused both the strike-out application and the application for a deposit order. The judgment did not determine the substantive unfair dismissal claim.