ETZ 4(WR) EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNALS (SCOTLAND)5 Case Nos: 4104993/2020 & 4102173/2020 (A) Preliminary Hearing by Cloud Video Platform on July 2021 Employment Judge: M A Macleod Mr S Livesey v Limited st and 7 others — 2021

At the preliminary hearing on 30 July 2021, Employment Judge M A Macleod heard the respondents' application under Rule 37 to strike out the claimant's two claims, together with alternative requests for a deposit order and an unless order under Rule 38. The claimant had two cases before the tribunal: one against Ineos Infrastructure (Grangemouth) Limited and eight individual respondents, and a second against Ineos Infrastructure (Grangemouth) Limited alone. The hearing was concerned with case management only and did not determine the merits of the underlying allegations.

The judge recorded that the claimant had repeatedly failed to provide further and better particulars and had sought multiple postponements, including a request the day before the hearing and an earlier postponement on 2 February 2021 when he said he had laryngitis. The tribunal considered the material he produced in support of that postponement to be an outdated and irrelevant occupational health letter, and found that he had not properly engaged with the tribunal on the issue. The judge accepted that the claimant was in default of the orders requiring clarification of the claims and described his conduct of the proceedings as unsatisfactory.

Despite those criticisms, the tribunal did not grant strike out at this stage. Instead, it issued an unless order giving the claimant 28 days to provide further and better particulars of the Equality Act 2010 claims, say whether he continued to pursue the claims against the individual respondents, and show compliance with the order dated 12 March 2021. The judge warned that failure to comply would result in dismissal of the claims and noted that he was minded to strike out the claims against the individual respondents unless they were withdrawn or properly clarified.