Miss K Brown v Hearn Care Homes Ltd Considered on the papers — 2020

Employment Judge Adkinson considered the matter on the papers on 29 October 2020 and struck out the whole of Miss Brown's claim. The reasons given were that the claim had no reasonable prospect of success under rule 37(1)(a) and had not been actively pursued under rule 37(1)(d) of the Employment Tribunals Rules of Procedure.

The judgment records that by a letter dated 24 September 2020 the claimant had been told that her unfair dismissal claim had been struck out and that there remained no other claim. She was warned that the tribunal proposed to strike out the claim and was given an opportunity to make representations.

On 28 September 2020 the claimant said she wished to claim on a count of fraud, referring to alleged forgery of her signature and dates of employment and hours. Employment Judge Broughton then wrote on 17 October 2020 to explain that the tribunal cannot deal with claims for forgery of signatures alone and asked for details of what the claimant was actually claiming, with a deadline of 26 October 2020. The claimant did not reply.

On that basis, the tribunal found that the claim did not raise any complaint within the tribunal's jurisdiction and could not succeed as it stood. The failure to respond to the tribunal's letter also supported the conclusion that the claim was not being actively pursued.