Unless order not clear enough to justify strike out

On appeal to the EAT, it noted that an Unless Order must clearly identify what was needed for compliance. This Order did not indicate the documents which might be relevant or to whom disclosure should be made. The EAT considered that the intention of the Tribunal was unclear and rejected the Respondent’s argument that the Unless Order made it obvious what was required of the Claimant.

The appeal was therefore allowed and the EAT gave some guidance on good practice for drafting Orders for disclosure and inspection and to specifically indicate what the party concerned is actually required to do i.e. whether serving a list of documents or actual documents and whether it is disclosure i.e. a list, or inspection i.e. copies, which is intended.

The Respondent must have thought it was their lucky day to get the case struck out so quickly!

This legal update is provided for general information purposes only and should not be applied to specific circumstances without prior consultation with us.

For further details on any of the issues covered in this update please contact Gemma Ospedale, Partner in Employment on 020 7583 2222.