In person. For the First & Second v Respondent — 2021

This hearing was not a merits determination. The tribunal considered the first and second respondents’ application under rule 71 of the Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure to revoke a Rule 21 judgment, together with their rule 20 application to extend time so that the ET3 filed on 16 July 2021 could be validated.

The judge recorded that the claimant had brought claims described in the reasons as direct and indirect sex discrimination, harassment on the basis of sex, and potentially unfair dismissal, but those claims were not decided at this hearing. The tribunal accepted that the claim and subsequent proceedings had been received on 23 March 2021, that the ET3 deadline was 14 April 2021, and that the respondents did not appreciate the proceedings until they received the Rule 21 judgment on 30 June 2021 after a cyber-attack had disrupted the first respondent’s systems and the head of HR had resigned.

In deciding the rule 71 application, the tribunal weighed the delay, the promptness of the respondents’ response once aware of the matter, the merits of the proposed defence, and prejudice to each side. The judge accepted that there had been unusual circumstances affecting the respondents’ ability to respond, considered that they had acted as promptly as could reasonably be expected once the matter came to their attention, and found that the respondents had set out a reasonable arguable defence which should be heard in evidence. The tribunal concluded that the prejudice to the respondents if the judgment were not revoked outweighed the prejudice to the claimant if it were.

The Rule 21 judgment was revoked, the ET3 filed on 16 July 2021 was validated by extension of time, and the case was listed for a closed preliminary hearing by telephone on 1 November 2021 for further case management. No remedy was assessed or awarded at this stage.