Fair hearing

Case 1: The facts

The tribunal that heard Miss La Vertue’s unfair dismissal claim reduced the length of the hearing from two days to one. She said the hearing was unfair, as she did not have time to complete her cross-examination or develop her case as she wished.

The ruling

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) held that the hearing had not been unfair. Although the tribunal had placed a time limit on cross-examination so that the hearing could be finished in one day, it did not do so until after La Vertue’s key witness had already given her evidence, and the time limit did not come into play for any of her other witnesses.

The EAT said that a tribunal is obliged to conduct a hearing in accordance with the “overriding objective”, which includes dealing with the hearing in a way that is proportionate to the issues and complexity. It noted that the issues in this case were straightforward and standard.

La Vertue v Ilex Energy Consultants Ltd UKEAT/0520/05