Mr I Judson v Opieka Ltd PUBLIC PRELIMINARY HEARING — 2025

This was a Public Preliminary Hearing on the respondent's application to strike out Mr Judson's unfair dismissal claim under Rule 38 of the Employment Tribunals Procedure Rules 2024, or alternatively to order a deposit under rule 40. The respondent argued the claim had little or no reasonable prospect of success because the claimant was subject to bail conditions affecting his employment, including a condition said to prohibit work in a position of trust.

The tribunal heard from both parties and had a copy of the bail conditions. It recorded that the claimant said he had spoken to the police and had been told the criminal case was not going anywhere, and that a police officer had offered to discuss matters with Sally Kelly but that this was said not to be appropriate. The respondent said the claimant had been summarily dismissed for failing to disclose the relevant bail conditions, for conduct said to bring the respondent into disrepute, and for breach of safeguarding policies, and relied on a thorough investigation and the band of reasonable responses.

The tribunal also noted the respondent's case that the claimant had a relationship with the vulnerable adult in a building where he worked and that this had led to loss of work for the respondent, while the claimant said the complainant in the criminal case was not within accommodation to which the respondent provided services. The tribunal concluded that evidence would be needed to determine the case and could not reach the conclusion that there was no reasonable prospect of success. It also noted that the claimant had been suspended for some time and that redeployment or continuation of the suspension were possible, so both the strike out application and the deposit application were refused. The final hearing was listed for 21 August 2025.