Member A Grant Tribunal Member N Elliot Mr R Rohatgi v Capita Customer Management Limited — 2024

The tribunal refused the claimant's application to strike out the respondent's response. The application was based on the argument that the respondent's representative at a preliminary hearing, an English-qualified barrister, had no right of audience before an employment tribunal sitting in Scotland.

The tribunal held that rights of audience were governed by section 6 of the Employment Tribunals Act 1996. It found no basis to read into section 6(1)(a) an implied requirement that counsel or solicitors must be qualified in the same jurisdiction as the tribunal. The tribunal considered that the wording and context of the Act supported a broader reading, consistent with the relative informality of employment tribunal proceedings.

The tribunal also held that, even if the claimant's interpretation of section 6(1)(a) were correct, the representative would in any event have had a right of audience under section 6(1)(c) as 'any other person' chosen to represent a party. The authorities and statutory provisions relied on by the claimant did not lead the tribunal to a different conclusion.