EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNALS (SCOTLAND) Case No: 4102964/2022 Preliminary Hearing at Edinburgh on October 2022 Employment Judge: M A Macleod Michelle Donnelly Build a Rocket Boy Games Limited v Respondent — 2022

This was a preliminary hearing to determine cross-applications for strike out. The tribunal refused the claimant’s application to strike out the respondent’s response, finding no basis for the allegations made against the respondent’s solicitor and concluding that the application was not being pursued because neither the claimant nor her representative attended the hearing.

On the respondent’s application, the tribunal considered Rule 37(1)(b) of the Employment Tribunals Rules of Procedure 2013 and the authorities cited on scandalous, unreasonable and vexatious conduct. It found that the claimant and her representative had acted closely together and had repeatedly used correspondence with the tribunal and the respondent’s solicitor to make serious, unfounded allegations, including allegations of dishonesty, interference with justice, criminal conduct and bias.

The tribunal also found persistent non-compliance with tribunal requirements, including failure to provide information requested in the earlier note, failure to attend preliminary hearings, and repeated attempts by the representative to dictate whether hearings would proceed. It concluded that the claimant and her representative had shown contumelious disregard for the authority of the tribunal and that a fair trial was no longer possible.

The tribunal therefore held that the conduct of the proceedings had been scandalous, and also accepted the respondent’s submissions that it had been unreasonable and vexatious. It struck out the claim in its entirety. As the case was disposed of by strike out, there was no determination on the substantive merits of the pleaded employment claims and no remedy award was made.