Ms L Moses, Of Counsel For v Respondent — 2019

At the 5 September 2019 preliminary hearing, the tribunal discovered that a judgment dismissing the claimant's First Claim had been signed on 15 January 2019 after her withdrawal email of 15 September 2018, although it had not been sent to the parties or entered on the register until September 2019. The claimant applied under rule 70 for reconsideration and sought to amend her second claim to add constructive unfair dismissal, race discrimination, harassment, victimisation, and monetary claims.

Employment Judge Phillips found the withdrawal email to be clear, unequivocal and unambiguous, and held that nothing before 15 January 2019 indicated that the claimant did not intend to concede the First Claim. He accepted that the failures to notify and register the dismissal judgment were contrary to the rules, but held that they caused no prejudice and did not make reconsideration necessary in the interests of justice. The dismissal judgment therefore stood and took effect on 15 January 2019.

Because the dismissal judgment stood, the claimant could not rely again on the matters contained in the First Claim. The tribunal disallowed the proposed race discrimination and race harassment allegations based on paragraphs 7(a)-(e) of the amended particulars, and disallowed the unpaid salary claim at paragraph 17(a), treating those matters as the same or substantially the same complaints previously withdrawn and dismissed under rule 52. It allowed the remainder of the amendment application, including constructive unfair dismissal, the later race discrimination, harassment and victimisation allegations based on paragraphs 7(f)-(g), and the claims for unpaid commission, annual bonus and notice pay, with jurisdiction and time-limit issues reserved for the later hearing.