United Kingdom Employment Appeal Tribunal

APPEARANCES

 

For the Appellant	MR D BASU (of Counsel) The Solicitor London Borough of Southwark Chatelaine House 186 Walworth Road London SE17 1JJ


 


JUDGE D PUGSLEY: This is a case placed before us on a preliminary issue concerning a case which was the subject of a decision by the Tribunal at London South. We have got before us the most comprehensive grounds of appeal and supplemented thereto has been a very carefully argued skeleton argument. At the risk of distorting by simplifying there is a common theme to this submission, which is that the Tribunal, in various ways, has assumed discrimination rather than found it proved. That is a simplification.

All the Appellants have to show at this stage is that there is an arguable case. We have all studied the skeleton argument before the hearing and we have all come to the view that this is a case where the matter is arguable. We say no more than that and we are concerned with the suggestion the Chairman should be required to produce notes. We have, therefore, suggested that the appropriate course is the Appellants' solicitors and the Respondent who most helpfully has attended this Court should see if the issue defined in paragraph 20 of the skeleton argument and paragraph 53 of the decision, is one that can be subject to a degree of agreement. We allow the Appellant, if he so wishes, in due course to make formal application for the Chairman's notes. This Tribunal is most vigilant as to not granting that unless it is absolutely essential for the conduct of the appeal and certainly it has to be for a specific issue.