Employee impaled by the Human Rights Act!
by Philip
The HRA has not been frequently used in the Employment Tribunal but here it was used to stunning effect by the Employer. The law of unintended consequences has meant that the mighty BT has used the HRA to have a claim dismissed by an ex-employee who suffered from poor health. Was the HRA there to protect mega corporations from claims by frail ex-employees?
The EAT has ruled that it was permissible for a Tribunal to strike out a Claimant’s claim where the Claimant’s illness had prevented her from having her claim heard.
Unusually the Claimant was impaled on the sword of Article 6 of the Human Rights Act, namely the right to a fair trial. The right to a fair trial meant having a hearing within a reasonable period. As the matter had dragged on for 3 years and the Claimant’s health meant that she was unlikely to be fit for the foreseeable future, a fair trial was not possible.
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