In this long running equal pay case, the Respondent was granted permission to adduce expert evidence in advance of a Material Factor Defence hearing. The Claimants appealed on the basis that the ET failed to anchor the expert evidence to the Respondent’s pleaded case and failed to identify the issues on which the expert evidence would be required.

The EAT allowed the appeal. The ET erred in granting permission to a party to adduce expert evidence in advance of a Material Factor Defence hearing in an equal value claim without first properly identifying the issues in the case or addressed how the evidence would be reasonably required to resolve the issues in the case.