United Kingdom Employment Appeal Tribunal

APPEARANCES

 

For the Appellant	NO APPEARANCE BY OR REPRESENTATION ON BEHALF OF THE APPELLANT


 


MR JUSTICE LINDSAY: This is a preliminary hearing in the matter of Mr Francis against TM Group Plc. Mr Francis, the Appellant, is not here and there has been no communication suggesting that he was intending to come today by himself or his Solicitors. This is a day of numerous bomb scares and so we thought it right to give a considerable time so that investigations can be made to see whether there is any intention on Mr Francis' part to attend.

Although it is now 7 minutes past 2, nothing has been heard that suggests Mr Francis has any intention of appearing and, in any event, earlier communications suggest, to put it no higher, that there is at least a possibility that Mr Francis was intending not to pursue his appeal, but rather to let it die.

So what we direct is this. It is a rather complicated direction that seems to be justified under the Employment Appeal Tribunal Rules 1993. First of all:

(1) Within not more than 14 days from the posting, as hereinafter mentioned, to him and/or to his Solicitors, whichever is the later, of a copy of this direction and order, the Appellant or his Solicitors are to fax or post to the Registrar of the Employment Appeal Tribunal, a request for the fixing of a date for a renewed preliminary hearing of his appeal.

(2) That the Registrar shall cause a copy of this direction and order to be sent by ordinary First Class letter post to the Appellant's Solicitors and, if a separate address appears in the papers now held by the Employment Appeal Tribunal for the Appellant, then also to send to such address of the Appellant.

(3) That such form of service shall suffice as good service of this direction and order upon the Appellant.

So far that is a direction given under Rule 25 of the Employment Appeal Tribunal Rules 1993, but our order continues with a fourth paragraph, which is under Rule 26, and under that latter Rule we order fourthly:

(4) That if the Appellant fails to comply with the above direction as to his or his Solicitors requesting the fixing of a date for the renewed preliminary hearing of his appeal, then he is to be debarred from taking any further step in his appeal and that, on the expiry of 3 days after the effluxion of the 14 days, then his appeal will be struck out without further order.

That is all we need do at this stage.