Contact

Carla Benest

Carla Benest

Partner | Jersey

Laurie Child

Laurie Child

Counsel | Jersey

Katie Phillips

Katie Phillips

Senior Associate | Jersey

MOrsel - Time on your side: late responses to Tribunal claims

18 July 2018

Jersey's Employment and Discrimination Tribunal has upheld claims for race discrimination and automatic unfair dismissal against a company and a named individual without considering their defence or evidence relating to the claims, after their Response was received by the Tribunal six days after the specified time limit.

Both the company and the individual now have publicly recorded findings of discrimination against them. Whilst the company was ordered to pay all of the compensation due to the Claimant, this is a salutary reminder of the need for employers and any named respondents to prioritise and respond to any claims– or to apply for an extension – within the specified deadline.

The Claimant in this case, Teodor Dyulgerov –v- Your Store Limited & Others, asserted in his claim form that his dismissal had been motivated by his nationality and was therefore an act of race discrimination and automatically unfair. With no Response having been received in time from the company and the dismissing officer, the Tribunal Chairman decided that there was sufficient material available from the claim form on which to uphold the claims.

The Tribunal's willingness to make adverse findings against employers and individuals on the basis of allegations in a claim form alone may seem draconian. However, the Tribunal's rules contain express powers to this effect. It appears the respondents in this case tried to argue that the late submission of a Response was due to postal delays over the Easter period, but this argument was rejected when it transpired that the documents were posted the day after the deadline.

Failing to submit a Response in time, it is clear, leaves employers and individuals at the mercy of the Tribunal – with no opportunity to properly contest the substance of a Claimant's allegations.

 

 

 

 

 

Contact

Carla Benest

Carla Benest

Partner | Jersey

Laurie Child

Laurie Child

Counsel | Jersey

Katie Phillips

Katie Phillips

Senior Associate | Jersey

About Mourant

Mourant is a law firm-led, professional services business with over 60 years' experience in the financial services sector. We advise on the laws of the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Jersey and Luxembourg and provide specialist entity management, governance, regulatory and consulting services.

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