“Reasons for the judgment having been given orally at the hearing, written reasons will not be provided unless a request was made by either party at the hearing or a written request presented by either party within 14 days of the sending of this written record of the decision.”
“Clause 6: Within three working days of signature of this Agreement, the individual or the Individual’s representative shall notify the Employment Tribunal that settlement has been reached and that no further remedy hearing is required.”
“The parties to the above claim have agreed a settlement of the proceedings through ACAS. We would be grateful if the Employment Tribunal could update its records accordingly For the avoidance of doubt, no further remedy hearing is required.”
“Employment Judge Corrigan notes that the proceedings have come to an end via a COT3 agreement and that this supersedes the Claimant’s request for written reasons in respect of the re-employment decision, which will therefore now not be provided.”
“Reasons (1) The Tribunal shall give reasons for its decision on any disputed issue, whether substantive or procedural (including any decision on an application for reconsideration or for orders for costs, preparation time or wasted costs). (2) In the case of a decision given in writing the reasons shall also be given in writing. In the case of a decision announced at a hearing the reasons may be given orally at the hearing or reserved to be given in writing later (which may, but need not, be as part of the written record of the decision). Written reasons shall be signed by the [presiding member] (3) Where reasons have been given orally, the [presiding member] shall announce that written reasons will not be provided unless they are asked for by any party at the hearing itself or by a written request presented by any party within 14 days of the sending of the written record of the decision. The written record of the decision shall repeat that information. If no such request is received, the Tribunal shall provide written reasons only if requested to do so by the Employment Appeal Tribunal or a court. (4) The reasons given for any decision shall be proportionate to the significance of the issue and for decisions other than judgments may be very short. (5) In the case of a judgment the reasons shall: identify the issues which the Tribunal has determined, state the findings of fact made in relation to those issues, concisely identify the relevant law, and state how that law has been applied to those findings in order to decide the issues. Where the judgment includes a financial award the reasons shall identify, by means of a table or otherwise, how the amount to be paid has been calculated.”
“End of claim 51. Where a claimant informs the tribunal, either in writing or in the course of a hearing, that a claim, or part of it, is withdrawn, the claim, or part, comes to an end, subject to any application that the respondent may make for a costs, preparation time or wasted costs order. Dismissal following withdrawal 52. Where a claim, or part of it, has been withdrawn under rule 51, the Tribunal shall issue a judgment dismissing it (which means that the claimant may not commence a further claim against the respondent raising the same, or substantially the same, complaint) unless— (a) the claimant has expressed at the time of withdrawal a wish to reserve the right to bring such a further claim and the Tribunal is satisfied that there would be legitimate reason for doing so; or (b) the Tribunal believes that to issue such a judgment would not be in the interests of justice.”
“It has on a number of occasions been made plain that the decision of an Industrial Tribunal is not required to be an elaborate formalistic product of refined legal draftsmanship, but it must contain an outline of the story which has given rise to the complaint and a summary of the Tribunal's basic factual conclusions and a statement of the reasons which have led them to reach the conclusion which they do on those basic facts. The parties are entitled to be told why they have won or lost. There should be sufficient account of the facts and of the reasoning to enable the EAT or, on further appeal, this court to see whether any question of law arises; and it is highly desirable that the decision of an Industrial Tribunal should give guidance both to employers and trade unions as to practices which should or should not be adopted.”
“We make the following general comments on the duty to give reasons. (1) The duty is a function of due process, and therefore of justice. Its rationale has two principal aspects. The first is that fairness surely requires that the parties especially the losing party should be left in no doubt why they have won or lost. This is especially so since without reasons the losing party will not know (as was said in Ex parte Dave) whether the court has misdirected itself, and thus whether he may have an available appeal on the substance of the case. The second is that a requirement to give reasons concentrates the mind; if it is fulfilled, the resulting decision is much more likely to be soundly based on the evidence than if it is not.” (1) The duty is a function of due process, and therefore of justice. Its rationale has two principal aspects. The first is that fairness surely requires that the parties especially the losing party should be left in no doubt why they have won or lost. This is especially so since without reasons the losing party will not know (as was said in Ex parte Dave) whether the court has misdirected itself, and thus whether he may have an available appeal on the substance of the case. The second is that a requirement to give reasons concentrates the mind; if it is fulfilled, the resulting decision is much more likely to be soundly based on the evidence than if it is not.”
“The requirement to give reasons under common law 15. There is a general recognition in the common law jurisdictions that it is desirable for judges to give reasons for their decisions, although it is not universally accepted that this is a mandatory requirement—“There is no invariable rule established by New Zealand case law that courts must give reasons for their decisions”, per Elias CJ in Lewis v Wilson & Horton Ltd[2000] 3 NZLR 546 , 565. While a constant refrain is that reasons must be given in order to render practicable the exercise of rights of appeal, a number of other justifications have been advanced for the requirement to give reasons. These include the requirement that justice must not only be done but be seen to be done. Reasons are required if decisions are to be acceptable to the parties and to members of the public. Henry LJ in Flannery's case[2000] 1 WLR 377 observed that the requirement to give reasons concentrates the mind of the judge and it has even been contended that the requirement to give reasons serves a vital function in constraining the judiciary's exercise of power: see Professor Shapiro's article “In Defence of Judicial Candor” (1987) 100 Harv L Rev 731, 737. The function that judgments play under the common law in setting precedent for the future has also been identified as one of the justifications for the requirement to give reasons, although as Mahoney JA stated in Soulemezis v Dudley (Holdings) Pty Ltd (1987) 10 NSWLR 247 , 273: “The court's order is a public act. The judgment given for it is a professional document, directed to the parties and their professional advisers. It may, in a particular instance, delineate, develop or even decorate the law but that is peripheral and not essential to its nature.” 16. We would put the matter at its simplest by saying that justice will not be done if it is not apparent to the parties why one has won and the other has lost.” (Emphasis added)
“30. Rule 51 ETR 2013 (now rule 50 ETR 2024 ) provides: “ End of claim “Where a claimant informs the tribunal , either in writing or in the course of a hearing, that a claim, or part of it, is withdrawn, the claim, or part, comes to an end, subject to any application that the respondent may make for a costs, preparation time or wasted costs order.” 31. The relevant act is that of the claimant informing the employment tribunal that the claim is withdrawn. The withdrawal brings the claim to an end without any act on the part of the employment tribunal. 32. That seems simple enough, but what is sufficient to amount to a withdrawal, and what if the claimant asserts that there has been a miscommunication and the words used did not amount to withdrawal? 33. In Segor v Goodrich Actuation Systems Ltd (unreported)10 February 2012 , Langstaff J (President) stated at para 11 that “a concession or withdrawal cannot properly be accepted as such unless it is clear, unequivocal and unambiguous”.”
“‘11. What we should say, however, is this. A tribunal will always want to take care where a litigant, particularly one who is self-represented or who has a lay representative, seeks to concede a point or to abandon it. It may be a matter of great significance. Though it is always for the parties to shape their cases and for a tribunal to rule upon the cases as put before it, and not as the tribunal might think it would have been better expressed by either party, it must take the greatest of care to ensure that if a party during the course of a hearing seeks to abandon a central and important point that that is precisely what the individual wishes to do, that they understand the significance of what is being said, that there is clarity about it, and if they are unrepresented, that they understand some of the consequences that may flow. As a matter of principle we consider that a concession or withdrawal cannot properly be accepted as such unless it is clear, unequivocal and unambiguous.’”
““16. In Segor v Goodrich Actuation Systems Ltd (unreported)10 February 2012 , the EAT made clear that tribunals should always take steps to ensure that litigants, particularly those who are self-represented or have lay representation, who seek to concede a point or abandon it do so on a clear, unambiguous and unequivocal basis before accepting the concession or abandonment indicated. At para 11 Langstaff J (President) held: ‘11. What we should say, however, is this. A tribunal will always want to take care where a litigant, particularly one who is self-represented or who has a lay representative, seeks to concede a point or to abandon it. It may be a matter of great significance. Though it is always for the parties to shape their cases and for a tribunal to rule upon the cases as put before it, and not as the tribunal might think it would have been better expressed by either party, it must take the greatest of care to ensure that if a party during the course of a hearing seeks to abandon a central and important point that that is precisely what the individual wishes to do, that they understand the significance of what is being said, that there is clarity about it, and if they are unrepresented, that they understand some of the consequences that may flow. As a matter of principle we consider that a concession or withdrawal cannot properly be accepted as such unless it is clear, unequivocal and unambiguous.’ “17. In Drysdale v Department of Transport (Maritime and Coastguard Agency)[2014] EWCA Civ 1083 ; [2015] ICR D2, the claimant’s wife, Mrs Drysdale, announced that she wished to withdraw her husband’s claim for unfair constructive dismissal in the course of the hearing when it became clear that the case would have to be postponed part-heard. The tribunal enquired whether she was making an application for her husband’s claim to be withdrawn, and she replied that she was. The respondent then applied for the claim to be dismissed, and after a short deliberation that application was granted by the tribunal. The claimant then applied for a review of the tribunal’s decision, which was refused, and the EAT dismissed his appeal. “18. On further appeal to the Court of Appeal the claimant’s wife submitted that she had been tired, stressed and frustrated at the time of the withdrawal, all symptoms exacerbated by her underlying condition of diabetes. She argued that the tribunal should not have accepted the withdrawal so quickly and that it was not voluntary; further, the tribunal should not have dismissed the claim on the basis of her response to its enquiry in all the circumstances of this particular case. The Court of Appeal concluded that there was nothing in what occurred at the hearing to alert the tribunal to the possibility that Mrs Drysdale was or may have been indisposed so that her judgment was or could be affected. The tribunal was aware of her underlying medical condition, but neither she nor the claimant indicated at any stage during the hearing that she was feeling unwell. The court reviewed the extent of the duty on tribunals towards litigants without legal representation in the context of applications to withdraw made at a hearing. Barling J, with whom Clarke and Arden LJJ agreed, held as follows: ‘11. What we should say, however, is this. A tribunal will always want to take care where a litigant, particularly one who is self-represented or who has a lay representative, seeks to concede a point or to abandon it. It may be a matter of great significance. Though it is always for the parties to shape their cases and for a tribunal to rule upon the cases as put before it, and not as the tribunal might think it would have been better expressed by either party, it must take the greatest of care to ensure that if a party during the course of a hearing seeks to abandon a central and important point that that is precisely what the individual wishes to do, that they understand the significance of what is being said, that there is clarity about it, and if they are unrepresented, that they understand some of the consequences that may flow. As a matter of principle we consider that a concession or withdrawal cannot properly be accepted as such unless it is clear, unequivocal and unambiguous.’ 61. First, it is clear that the ET was under no obligation to enquire into the reasons for the decision to withdraw the claim, with either the appellant or his representative. Other than in exceptional cases (which I do not attempt to define, as on any view this is not one of them) such an enquiry would not only be unnecessary but also inappropriate: it could be construed as an invitation to disclose privileged material relating to the claimant’s view (or advice received) as to the merits of the claim and/or as an intervention which might well prejudice the interests of the other side. In many cases it could also prejudice the interests of the claimant himself, who might be persuaded by the court’s intervention to pursue an unmeritorious case he was otherwise minded to abandon … ‘63. That leaves the question whether notwithstanding Mrs Drysdale’s confirmation that she wished to withdraw the claim and the appellant’s apparent assent to that decision, it was incumbent upon the ET to adjourn the proceedings on that afternoon, either for a few minutes or for a longer period, to enable the appellant and Mrs Drysdale to reflect further on the decision to withdraw. ‘64. In my view, notwithstanding the absence of legal representation, neither the overriding objective nor any other principle of law required the ET to take such a step. Whether to do so or not was a question of judgment falling squarely within the margin of discretion of the ET. The ET had no reason to suspect that the decision to withdraw the claim was ill-considered or irrational. Further, even if the ET had identified a risk that the decision was impulsive, that risk would have been removed by the conduct of the parties in the immediate aftermath of Mrs Drysdale’s announcement. Also, the fact that Mrs Drysdale was not legally qualified would have been lower down the scale of significance in this case than in many others where there is no professional representation, given Mrs Drysdale’s evident intelligence, clarity of thought and speech, and strength of purpose—qualities we have been able to observe ourselves in the course of this appeal.’ “19. It seems to me that the approach identified by both of those cases applies in the context of withdrawal and dismissal under rules 51 and 52 of the 2013 Rules as follows. So far as withdrawal is concerned, as Langstaff J (President) made clear in Segor , tribunals faced with an application to withdraw should consider whether the material available amounts to a clear, unambiguous and unequivocal withdrawal of the claim or part of it. Though there is no obligation on tribunals to intervene in such a situation, whether by reason of the overriding objective or any principle of natural justice, tribunals are entitled to make such enquiries as appear fit to check whether a party who is self or lay represented intends to withdraw. If the circumstances of withdrawal give rise to reasonable concern on the tribunal’s part, it is entitled to make such enquiries as appear appropriate to ensure that the purported withdrawal is clear, unambiguous and unequivocal.””