Addoo v Newham NHS Trust [1995] UKEAT 824_95_1010

EAT

Addoo v Newham NHS Trust

[1995] UKEAT 824_95_1010 · 1995-10-10

MR JUSTICE MUMMERY (PRESIDENT): This is an appeal from an order made by the Chairman of the Industrial Tribunal held at Stratford. The order was made in proceedings brought by Mr Ibrahim Addoo against the Newham Healthcare NHS Trust. Those proceedings were started on 19th May 1993. Mr Addoo stated, as his type of complaint for the Tribunal's decision, that he had been discriminated against under Race Relations Act 1976 and/or in relation to his contract of employment under Employment law.

He is employed by the Trust as a night charge nurse.

He gave details of his complaint in pages attached to the originating application form IT1. The NHS Trust served a Notice of Appearance and made a request to the Chairman of the Tribunal for an order for further and better particulars of the complaints of Race and/or Sex Discrimination. The Trust had initially attempted to obtain details in correspondence. But Mr Addoo, in his letter of 10th July 1995, did not give any further details of the complaints of victimisation and harassment made in a general way in his IT1.

It was in those circumstances that the application was made to the Chairman to make an order against Mr Addoo requiring him to give further and better particulars on his Race and/or Sex Discrimination claims.

The Chairman made an order. The order was notified to the parties on 24th July 1995. The order was that Mr Addoo send to the respondent the following particulars of the grounds, namely:

"All facts and matters on which the Applicant will rely in support of his allegations at page 7 of the particulars of his application that he has been victimised, harassed and subjected to mental torture and the grounds on which he relies for saying that he has been discriminated against on the grounds of his race or sex.

and that by same date you send a copy to this office."

Mr Addoo questioned the legal correctness of this order in a Notice of Appeal dated 31st July 1995 and lodged with this Tribunal on that date. He complained that the order had been made in error of law in that it was against the weight of the evidence, and no Chairman would have conceded this request. He therefore sought an order that the Chairman's decision should be struck out, that a hearing date which had been fixed should be vacated and that the Chairman concerned should not be involved in this matter.

At the hearing today, Mr Addoo appeared in person, and a representative has attended from the NHS Trust.

After discussion at some length with Mr Addoo, he confirmed that he was making a complaint of race and sex discrimination in relation to certain appointments of people to positions senior to him. It also became clear that Mr Addoo accepted that he should give the particulars requested. He said that particulars had been given of his complaints in an internal appeal procedure, and that the NHS Trust knew what he was complaining about. We explained to Mr Addoo that that does not excuse him from complying with an order made by the Chairman in the exercise of the discretion to order particulars under Rule 4 of the Rules of Procedure for Industrial Tribunals 1993.

Mr Addoo accepts that he should give these details. We have informed him that it would be in the interests of his own case to give these details. We propose, in those circumstances, to dismiss his appeal, because there is no error of law in the Tribunal Chairman's requirement that he should give these particulars. The deadline has passed, as a result of the time which it has taken to bring this appeal on. We propose that, rather than remit the matter to the Industrial Tribunal, we extend the time for complying with the order to the 10th November 1995. That is a Friday. That will give Mr Addoo 28 days in which to frame the details of his complaints, both on grounds of sex and race discrimination. It will give him time to obtain any advice and help that he may require. No objection to that extension has been raised by the NHS Trust.

Mr Addoo sought to raise certain other matters on which he may require particulars and information from the NHS Trust. We explained to him that it is premature to raise that here. That is a matter for the Industrial Tribunal to deal with after he has provided his details to the NHS Trust, and after the NHS Trust has responded to those details. Only when that has been done, will it become clearer what the issues are. Only when those issues have become clear, will it be possible to make a decision at the Industrial Tribunal whether further particulars should be given and what the extent of discovery should be in relation to documents and any further information. We make no order on that matter.

The only order we make this morning is that the appeal be dismissed and the time for complying with the order (notified on 24th July 1995) be extended to 10th November 1995.

We have been informed by both sides that the date for the hearing of this case has been fixed for 11th and 12th March 1996. There will be plenty of time between now and then to prepare all that has to be done for the hearing.