The Claimant was dismissed in 2019. In 2020 he began a claim including multiple complaints of discrimination during employment going back to 2017, and unfair dismissal. Progress of the tribunal litigation was substantially delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic and a period during which the respondent was subject to a CVA. At a preliminary hearing in 2023 the ET struck out the discrimination complaints on the basis that they were no longer capable of a fair trial. Shortly before the start of the full merits hearing, the Respondent applied for a postponement, having regard to the Claimant having appealed the decision to strike out the discrimination claims. That was refused. At the hearing itself the Claimant made such an application, which was also refused. The Claimant appealed both the strike out decision and the refusal to postpone the full merits hearing.

The EAT dismissed both appeals. On the strike out appeal, in the particular circumstances of this case the ET did not err. The decision considered how an ET should approach the “fair trial” issue in the context of a strike-out application. On the postponement issue, the ET did not err in concluding that there had been no material change of circumstances, nor, in any event, in its other substantive reasoning in support of its decision to refuse that fresh application.