Weekly Issue 438

Operation of fee system

The House of Commons library has produced a useful briefing paper summarising the background to, and the operation of, the fee system which was introduced in July 2013 for employment tribunals.

Series of similar acts

The Fixed-Term Regulations state that claimants can bring a claim within three months of the last of a “series of similar acts”. In Ibarz v University of Sheffield, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) held that the consistent application of certain policies, practices and procedures to a series of fixed-term contracts by an employer could amount to a “series of similar acts”.

Available evidence

Although it is within the power of a tribunal to decide what evidence to consider, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) held in Habinteg Housing Association Ltd v Holleron that it must take all available evidence into account and ensure that it is treated equally, including hearsay evidence.