Mr T J Conlon v Ringway Infrastructure Services Limited Watford 18 August 2020 — 2020

Mr Conlon alleged that he had made a protected disclosure about a manager and that the respondent retaliated by dismissing him. He also alleged that he had been assaulted by a manager and sought compensation, while the respondent denied the assault allegation and maintained that the disciplinary concerns about attendance, timesheets and failure to follow instructions pre-dated the disclosure allegation. The case history included earlier case management orders and a strike-out under an unless order after the claimant failed to comply with disclosure and inspection requirements relating to his phone, video and photographs.

The 1 June 2020 judgment was not a merits hearing of the whistleblowing or unfair dismissal claims. It dealt with the claimant's application to set aside the effect of the unless order dated 26 October 2017. The tribunal recorded that the claimant had been given opportunities to pursue the application, that the Employment Appeal Tribunal had already concluded he could conduct proceedings in English without an interpreter, and that the claimant had not produced corroboration for his asserted inability to attend the hearing because of his father's funeral.

Employment Judge Smail found a consistent pattern of non-compliance with tribunal orders. The judge held that there was no basis to set aside the strike-out in the interests of justice under rule 38(2) of the Employment Tribunal Rules 2013, considered Denton v TH White Limited by analogy, and was not satisfied that the claimant had shown that he could not comply with the order requiring attendance at the respondent's solicitors' office in Godalming or that he had reliable evidence supporting the alleged assault video. The application to set aside the unless order or its effects was therefore struck out, alternatively dismissed, and no award was made.