United Kingdom Employment Appeal Tribunal

APPEARANCES

 

For the Appellant	THE APPELLANT IN PERSON


 


MR JUSTICE MORISON (PRESIDENT): The purpose of this hearing is to determine whether the appellant has an arguable point of law in her appeal against a decision of an Industrial Tribunal Chairman sitting alone on 25th June 1997 at Stratford. By that decision which was reduced to writing and sent to the parties on 23rd July 1997, the Chairman concluded that the applicant was fairly dismissed for the reasons set out.

Essentially, this is a case in which the applicant was dismissed in connection with her sickness record. We are persuaded that it is arguable, firstly, the Industrial Tribunal erred in the way if identified the reason for the dismissal, namely, was she being dismissed because she had had substantial sickness problems in the past, or was she being dismissed because of the employer's fears as to her reliability as an employee in the future.

It seems to us that paragraph 8.10 of the IT3 suggests that they were looking at the past rather than the future, although the Industrial Tribunal Chairman's decision appears to be based on the future.

Secondly, it seems to us, in any event, that it is arguable that on the facts as found by the tribunal Chairman, the decision he arrived at was perverse. The argument that is raised in this connection is that the medical evidence available to the employers was all to the same effect namely that no further surgery was intended or being considered, but that the doctors could not predict her long-term health or sickness.

It seems to us to be arguable that the inability of the medical practitioners to predict a future event gave no grounds for the employers to say that she was inherently unlikely to be a reliable employee in the future, in the sense that no one can predict a person's long-term health.

On those grounds it seems to us that it is arguable that this decision was wrong in law. Accordingly, we direct that it go to a full hearing. I would like to retain this case to myself, because it raises a question mark as to the desirability of an Industrial Tribunal Chairman to sit on his own on an unfair dismissal case such as this. It seems to us to raise questions as to good practice, bearing in mind that the circumstances relating to a dismissal in connection with sickness is very much a matter on which the lay members are likely to have important contributions to make. For these reasons, therefore, this appeal will be allowed to go for a full hearing.