Ms O Adeyanju v Barts Health NHS Trust — 2023

Employment Judge Reid, sitting alone at the East London Hearing Centre on 28 November 2023, struck out the Claimant's entire claim under Rules 37(1)(b) and 37(1)(c) of the Tribunal Rules 2013. The tribunal found that despite four preliminary hearings dedicated to identifying the issues, the claim remained only part-clarified some 15 months after presentation, and that the Claimant had not attended the 19 October 2023 hearing listed to complete that clarification process. The judge concluded that the Claimant's approach to the proceedings — including late provision of documents, non-compliance with Orders on time, and failure to cooperate with the Respondent and Tribunal on medical evidence — meant a fair trial was not possible and that this conduct was likely to continue.

The tribunal considered alternatives to strike out, including a deposit order, but concluded a deposit order under Rule 39 was not feasible because the claim had not yet been sufficiently clarified to assess whether allegations had little reasonable prospect of success. Applying the guidance in Smith v Tesco Stores and the overriding objective in Rule 2, the judge found that the original final hearing listed for March 2024 was no longer feasible and that the Respondent had been put to significantly higher costs than would otherwise have been required.

A costs order of £2,250 was made against the Claimant in favour of the Respondent under Rule 76(1)(a), representing 100% of Counsel's fees for the 19 October 2023 hearing the Claimant did not attend. The judge took into account the Claimant's ability to pay, noting her net monthly pay of £2,854.42, and extended the default 14-day compliance period under Rule 66, setting payment by 1 February 2024.