Ms S Child Respondent Crown Prosecution Service PRELIMINARY HEARING v Respondent — 2021

The tribunal considered the claimant’s application of 30 September 2021 to reconsider the earlier judgment striking out her harassment complaint for failure to pay a deposit. Employment Judge Batten heard the application at a preliminary hearing on 20 January 2022, with the claimant appearing in person and the respondent represented by counsel. The judge applied the reconsideration provisions in rules 70 and 72(2) of the Employment Tribunals Rules of Procedure 2013 and asked whether reconsideration was necessary in the interests of justice.

The tribunal found that a deposit order for £500 had been made at a preliminary hearing on 18 June 2021 and sent on 28 July 2021, with payment due within three weeks, i.e. by 18 August 2021 at the latest. The only contact shown in the evidence was an email sent by the claimant at 17:04 on 18 August 2021 asking how to pay and requesting an online link. The tribunal found that this was the first contact shown and that it came at the eleventh hour; it also recorded that there was no record of any prior or further contact to pay the deposit.

The claimant said she had tried to pay by telephone and online and asked for the strike-out to be rescinded, but she was unable to produce evidence of those earlier attempts. The tribunal held that rule 39(4) required the allegation to be struck out because the deposit had not been paid by the date specified, and that it had no discretion in those circumstances. It further held that there were no grounds to revoke the strike-out decision, so the reconsideration application was refused.