Employment Tribunal conduct may be disruptive in effect while mental impairment remains relevant to its cause. This article examines evidence, non-attendance, costs, unless orders, strike-out and fairness to both parties.
Employment Tribunals have broad powers to support vulnerable parties. But an impaired litigant in person may struggle to identify the barrier, explain its functional effect and provide the evidence needed for a proportionate adjustment.
A quiet May 2025 change to the Equal Treatment Bench Book removed a written-only evidence adjustment for mental health disabilities—raising concerns about access to justice as tribunals demand increasingly “objective” medical proof for adjustments and postponements.
