Ms R Symonds v CFE Lighting — 2023

The claimant applied on 3 August 2023 for reconsideration of the judgment made on 25 July 2023 and sent to the parties on 3 August 2023. She said she had attended the telephone hearing, was waiting on the call, but no one else joined, and that she had emailed the Tribunal and telephoned the Liverpool and Manchester Tribunal offices, speaking to a clerk, but was still unable to join the hearing.

The Employment Judge considered the application under Rules 70, 71 and 72 of the Employment Tribunal (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) Regulations 2013, together with the overriding objective and the requirement that reconsideration be necessary in the interests of justice. The judge took account of the claimant's email of 25 July 2023 and the call log showing her calls to the Tribunal and the hearing line. The judge also noted that the application for reconsideration had not initially been copied to the respondent, so it was served and the respondent was given 7 days to object to reinstatement.

The judge decided it would not be in the interests of justice to deny the claimant a chance to have her case heard where, unknown to the tribunal at the time, she had made every effort to attend. The decision dated 25 July 2023 dismissing the claimant's complaint was revoked, and the claimant's complaints were reinstated. A case management hearing was to be listed.