Miss Andrea Cook v The Crown Prosecution Service (“CPS”) RECORD OF A PRELIMINARY HEARING — 2024

By a claim form dated 26 May 2023, Miss Andrea Cook brought discrimination claims alleging race, disability, sexual orientation, and religion and belief discrimination in relation to an application for a job with the Crown Prosecution Service. The tribunal noted that the bases of the claims were not initially clear, and case management directions were made on 17 August 2023 to require further particulars so that the claims could be understood and progressed.

The claimant did not comply with those directions. A further case management hearing listed for 14 December 2023 was not attended by the claimant, and the tribunal found that she had no reasonable excuse for not attending and had failed to comply with the August directions. The tribunal then gave her another opportunity to comply and listed a preliminary hearing for 4 and 5 March 2024 to consider strike out, deposit applications, permission to amend, and further case management.

In the lead-up to the March hearing, the claimant sent emails saying she was unwell and asking for a postponement, but no satisfactory medical evidence was provided. Employment Judge Woodhead refused the adjournment application on 1 March 2024. The claimant then sent emails suggesting that she was withdrawing the claim, but the tribunal found the withdrawal position equivocal. She did not attend the hearing on 4 March 2024.

Employment Judge Havard concluded that, in light of the repeated non-attendance, the failure to comply with directions, the absence of medical evidence, and the need to apply the overriding objective fairly to both parties, the claims must be dismissed because the claimant did not attend the hearing. The tribunal did not determine the discrimination allegations on their merits and no remedy was awarded.