The claimant was alleged he was dismissed on return from a holiday and claimed automatic unfair dismissal for asserting minimum wage rights, unlawful deductions from wages and failure to provide written particulars. The respondent’s response denied he was an employee or worker, describing him as a trainee. At the ET, the respondent argued the claimant was a worker but the ET stuck out their response for “ambushing” the claimant, upholding the claims and awarding injury to feelings.

HHJ Tariq Sadiq allowed the respondent's appeal broadly as the ET overstated the respondent’s unreasonable conduct, failed to consider whether a fair trial remained possible on the respondent’s unamended case, and treated strike out as punitive and perverse. The strike out was quashed and the claims remitted to a differently constituted tribunal.