Mrs D Hyland v Sandcastle Care Limited — 2020

Mrs D Hyland presented her claim on 21 July 2020. At 11.58am on 3 August 2020 she emailed the tribunal saying, after advice from a new solicitor, that she wished to withdraw her claim against Sandcastle Care Limited. The tribunal found that email to be perfectly clear and effective as a withdrawal under rule 51.

A later email sent at 1.18pm the same day, saying she had changed her mind and did not wish to withdraw, did not undo the withdrawal. The tribunal held that once the claim had been withdrawn it had ended, and the tribunal had no jurisdiction to set aside the notice of withdrawal. That approach was supported by Khan v Heywood & Middleton Primary Care Trust [2006] ICR 24.

Because the claimant had not reserved the right to bring a further claim against the respondent raising the same or substantially the same complaint, rule 52 required the tribunal to issue judgment dismissing the claim. The tribunal also said it was not in the interests of justice to refrain from dismissal. It noted that the complaints pursued were unfair dismissal and whistleblowing detriment, and that advice said to have been given by administrative staff that the second email would mean the claim continued was wrong as a matter of law.