Not present or represented v Mr T Cordery — 2019

This was a remission hearing after the Court of Appeal's 23 May 2017 judgment. The tribunal did not reopen the earlier 2013 finding that Vinci Construction UK Ltd had unlawfully discriminated against Ms De Souza on grounds of disability and had been awarded £14,820.28. The issues on this hearing were whether the respondent's handling of the grievances involved breaches of the 2009 ACAS Code, and if so what uplift and interest should follow under s.207A of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

The tribunal refused Ms De Souza's further application for an adjournment and proceeded in her absence. It found unreasonable delay in the handling of the February 2011 grievance and appeal, the scheduling of occupational health consultations, and the 2012 grievance process. It accepted that much of the 2011 delay was caused by the claimant's own requests, but held that the respondent's delay still amounted to a breach of the ACAS Code. The tribunal considered that a 10% uplift was appropriate on the £13,200 part of the award to which the mark-up applied, producing an increase of £1,320.

The tribunal rejected the other alleged ACAS Code breaches identified by the Court of Appeal and said there were no further breaches. It found no bad faith, no extended campaign of discrimination, and noted that the procedures were generally exhaustive, with apologies given for mistakes and adjustments granted when requested. On interest, it applied the 1996 Regulations and awarded £633.60 at 8% on the uplift only, using six years rather than the full period because it would be a serious injustice to charge interest for delay caused in part by the claimant's own requests.