Mr E Kaboungo v Polypipe Limited Tribunal: Sheffield Dated: 13 March 2025 — 2025

This judgment concerns the claimant's application for reconsideration of the strike out judgment dated 17 February 2025, which had been sent to the parties the same day. The claimant emailed a request for reconsideration on 20 February 2025, the respondent was invited to comment, and a reply was received on 10 March 2025.

The claimant's stated reason was that he had been blocked from emailing Ms Turner of Pinsent Masons and had therefore had to send some documents by post. He relied on a screenshot showing an email to Pinsent Masons being blocked, but the tribunal accepted the respondent's explanation that the address had been mistyped as 'tuner' rather than 'Turner'. The judgment records that the claimant was subsequently able to email Ms Turner using the correct address.

The tribunal also held that, in any event, the relevant unless order required the claimant to send his witness statement both to the tribunal and to the respondent's representative. It found that he had not done so. Applying Rules 68 to 71 of the Employment Tribunal Procedure Rules 2024, and the 'no reasonable prospect of success' threshold in Rule 70(2), the tribunal concluded that the reconsideration application should be refused.

The judgment refers to the discretion under the reconsideration rules as requiring a judicial exercise of the 'interests of justice' test, with finality of litigation as a relevant consideration, citing Flint v Eastern Electricity Board [1975] ICR 395. On that basis, the application was rejected and the prior judgment remained in place.