Mr E Cairns v City of Sunderland College (Education Partnership North East) — 2021

Mr Cairns applied on 10 May 2021 for reconsideration of the Order dated 12 April 2021 and later sent further emails with additional documents, including correspondence with and a decision of the Information Commissioners’ Office. The respondent opposed the application. The tribunal considered the written material without a hearing.

The tribunal applied Rules 70 to 72 of Schedule 1 to the Employment Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) Regulations 2013, Rule 1(3)(a) and (b)(ii), and Rule 29. It held that the Order of 12 April 2021 was not a judgment that finally disposed of the claim, because the Response had not been struck out, but that the tribunal could nevertheless consider whether to vary or set aside the order under Rule 29.

The tribunal found that the application was simply an attempt to re-litigate evidence and law already considered. It held that the further ICO material was not relevant to the issues determined by the order of 12 April 2021, and that most of it had been available, or could have been made available, before the preliminary hearing. The tribunal also referred to Ladd v Marshall and concluded that the criteria for admitting new evidence were not met.

The tribunal decided that it was not in the interests of justice to vary or set aside the Order of 12 April 2021 and therefore refused the Claimant’s application for reconsideration.