Update 01: Employment Tribunal Hearing (14 to 18 March 2022) update #1

Judgement day has arrived for those individuals complicit in illegitimately making redundant Noah Duckworth – a disabled former employee – having been falsely accused of fabricating his employment contract and having had his salary illegally disclosed to all members to discredit him and his father. Those individuals, amongst several others, include Gawain Briars (Chairman), Richard O’Connor (Treasurer), Steve Payne (Former Secretary). Gerry Hargreaves (Former Director) and Roger Cockle (Committee member)

Click here to read the backstory

On 17 August 2021 a preliminary hearing was convened, in advance of this primary hearing, solely to determine the employment status of the former employee during his engagement by the club: whether or not he had, on the one hand, been a casual worker as the Directors appeared to have concluded between themselves or, on the other hand, had been an employee as claimed by the former employee.

Employment Judge Butler’s judgement was crushing. He not only found emphatically in favour of the former employee he gave a devastatingly negative critical assessment of the club’s evidence and witnesses.

Click here to download a copy of the preliminary hearing Judgement and Reasons

The principal hearing, listed for 5 days from 14 – 18 March 2022, will, according to the court listing jurisdictions, consider the following allegations against the club;

• Breach of Contract.
• Suffered a detriment, discrimination and/or dismissal on grounds of disability or failure of employer to make reasonable adjustments.
• Failure to provide a written statement of terms and conditions and any subsequent changes to those terms.
• Failure to pay a redundancy payment.
• Unfair dismissal on grounds of capability, conduct or some other general reason including the result of a transfer of an undertaking.

In cases such as this there is no upper limit in respect of the value of compensation should the claimant succeed.

As far as we are aware the Directors have failed to inform members of the precise extent of potential costs which the club’s insurers will pay. In his pre-AGM report of 21 November 2021, the Chairman, Gawain Briars, stated;

From the outset the club obtained insurance cover to pay for the legal costs of our defence and, if the case were to go against us, damages that the club may have to pay.”

The above suggests that all costs are covered. However, only a few weeks later he informed the Committee;

The club is covered by insurance for the majority
of legal expenses and compensation, if ordered.”
.

So, which is it – all costs, the majority of costs or some other – none perhaps? The only people who know, as far as we’re aware, are the original ‘Gang of Four’ Directors.